council tax consultation

'I'd be interested to know why people who don't have to struggle to pay full council tax should be given as much weight to their opinion as people who do have to struggle to pay full council tax. It's not going to affect them.'

It will when they get a job! And I guess you mean students, too. They don't pay at all if they're full-time.

Outraged I don't think you're making sense. If you're going to only allow certain people a say in how the changes are made, then you really need to be looking at what % of income people are spending on council tax. So if someone making £10,000 a year pays £500 council tax (after discounts) then that's 5%

Whereas if someone making £100,000 a year pays £2000 council tax then that's 2%. So surely they should be LESS entitled to a say because it will affect them less.

So OP can pay £42 extra a year or themysterycat can pay £300-500 extra a year....

That's my mind made up.

Expat, it's not a vote! People who don't pay full council tax would still have the right to vote ffs!

Its a consultation about whether council tax should be raised or not. I'd be interested to know why people who don't have to struggle to pay full council tax should be given as much weight to their opinion as people who do have to struggle to pay full council tax. It's not going to affect them. And if they really don't like the result of the consultation, then they can use their vote to make their voices heard.

And I'm not talking about people on benefits anyway. Discounts are included too. You don't have to be on any benefits at all to get single person discount. You could be a millionaire.

i would pay £300-500 more which is crippling.

no mention of charges on second homes even though i'm in an area full of them - that's very frustrating!

Did I read that right 2.5 k council tax, thats mad

Each council is proposing their own ideas - different councils will do different things.

And I would pay £42 extra.

Interesting. Our consultation leaflet was about how should the council tax benefit amount be reduced. So about should everyone of working age contribute (they were talking £4/week), or should those on low incomes be protected etc.

No mention of the level of rise if the number of discounts isn't decreased!

Sounds like every council are approaching it differently - maybe depending on the demographic of their area?

'No, niceguy, I don't believe that anyone on JSA, IS or ESA should not be entitled to bite in a general election.

That is not the same 'logic' at all.'

It isn't? Many of them paid into the system for years, just like those others who live off state benefits . . . oh, yes, pensioners! So if you're going to apply the no vote if you're on state benefit, then shouldn't it apply to them, too?

No I'm not flush with cash sadly! I live in a borough with one of the lowest council tax rates in the country so it could go up - I remember seeing a calculation in council leaflets about it. Instead we've had massive cuts to youth services amongst other things (it's a tory council).

Erk, I'm very glad I live in Scotland. Our Council Tax has been frozen since 2007 iirc.

No one is going to vote to pay more.

Anyway, it's a 'consultation', which translates as barge ahead with removing council tax benefit from the working age poor.

Pensioners will continue to get it.

Council tax should be doubled for all second homes
and ANY discounts - single person / pensioner / unemployed / student etc should only go up to band E : if you rattle around in a huge house, cough up or take in a lodger

Also any property owned by a company or a non UK taxpayer should automatically pay double band H regardless of size

i am grateful they haven't raised council tax. under the last government it practically doubled.

no one is getting a pay rise, gas and electricity seem to be ridiculous. who would want to pay anymore council tax if they pay the full wack when i think it is very expensive.

Bite? I meant vote, obviously.

No, niceguy, I don't believe that anyone on JSA, IS or ESA should not be entitled to bite in a general election.

That is not the same 'logic' at all.

There are many many issues that are raised in an election, and many issues that are covered in manifestos.

This questionnaire was about one specific issue. I just don't think that people who aren't affected by the issue can have a vote on a subject that doesn't affect them. It would be like me trying to get a vote in the general election in Germany, a country I have never been to.

iggly - just out of interest, is that because you are flush with money, you benefit from the services, or for another reason??? hope you don't mind me asking.

rubbish tax is rubbish, espec when they try and con us its environmental. we recycle as much as possible but because we are a family of 5 produce the most waste in the close. one set of neighbours does absolutely zilch recycling but because there's only 2 of them produce less rubbish than us. so we would get charged the most and we already pay over 2k. Fine if you do this on how many people live in a place - but don't see how that would be feasible

Didn't the govt offer local councils some money so they didn't have to raise council taxes? It was a while back and my memory escapes me now on that one.

What is this survey?

Given that council tax only makes up some of the revenue councils get, I think there are other ways of generating income across the board for councils.

Central government gives a lot of funding to councils, so much so that they have them by the balls and can threaten them with freezes if councils dare to raise tax.

I'm all for an increase in tax quite frankly.

Everyone should be entitled to an opinion.

OK.. It sounds high to me because I'm one of those appalling people that gets a single person discount :) Without it I suppose I'd be paying £2000 a year. It's a pity the OP got such a straight choice between 'raise council tax' and 'drop benefits'. There must be other ways to increase revenue... the much-threatened levy on rubbish, for example.

there are some areas locally where i think 25% of the population are retired. If they no longer get a rebate from central gov the increase on standard council tax payers would be significant. And the retired people need more in the way of services, eg free buses - which already cost the council there a fortune.

we too pay 2.5k a year. live in a nice house, but not a mansion and hardly any garden.

Our council tax is almost £2500 - for a pretty typical 4 bed detached. It's just that there are so many people entitled to reduced council tax that those of us to have to pay it pay more. We don't live in a mansion!

BTW... a council tax of £2500 is pretty steep. Would you qualify for Nick Clegg's mansion tax if it came in?

If you don't pay your own council tax in full, you really shouldn't be entitled to an opinion on this subject.

Based on that logic then I assume you also believe that anyone on JSA, IS or ESA should not be entitled to vote at a general election because they aren't contributing via income tax?