to wonder how 'working age' people are supposed to keep finding more and more extra money?

[littlemisssarcastic]

Changes to council tax benefit take effect on April 1st 2013.

I'm convinced there are many people who receive council tax benefit, who are not aware of all of the changes coming in.

My eyes have been opened since I checked my local council's website.

I understand different councils are going to tackle this in different ways.

My council have decided amongst other things that;

Working age claimants will have to pay a minimum of 20% of their council tax, regardless of their income.
Just £10 will be disregarded from income from child maintenance rather than the current 100%.
Claims will be backdated for one month only from the date your council tax bill is issued
No Second Adult Rebate
There will be an increase in the non dependent deductions

They have also decided that "You are not a "pensioner" if you have a partner that gets Income Support, Employment and Support allowance or income-based Jobseekers Allowance."
Other than that, pensioners are exempt from any change to the amount of benefit they receive, ie: pensioners will continue to get 100% of their council tax paid if it would have been paid in full under 'council tax benefit' rules IYSWIM.

That is my councils changes.

yanbu

YANBU....these cuts will affect the working age poor (and that encompasses both working and non-working) disproportionately. It has been bought in by the filthy rich who frankly don't give a stuff.

I just hope those that voted Tory have learnt their lesson now!

I think it's fair tbh. Everyone should be expected to contribute something to society.

evangelina are you serious?

How do you know they're not contributing to society? Do only monetary contributions count? What about unemployed people who volunteer with charities? Or unemployed people who actually shovel snow off pavements?

YANBU It is a scary situation and it is going to get worse. I pay 100% council tax already but I don't begrudge those who can't. It is just making the poor poorer

BigJessie, since we have no way of measuring people's contributions in other ways, and we live in a capitalist society, yes I mean financial.

So, obviously, big-shot ad execs and bankers contribute more to society than binpeople or sewage workers or postal workers, then. I mean, they're paid more.

I think 20% of council tax is fair. Remember they are raising the income tax threshold, so low earners will not be taxed (on income) as much as they were previously.

Yes, I get that measure ps like this are giving it back with one hand and taking it away with the other, but I do agree that everyone should pay some council tax.

Council services are just too important to lose. They pay for education, special educational needs provision, social care and so many other services that we all rely on, such as the police and fire service.

It's horrible that people will struggle to pay, but it would be worse if we lost the services I mentioned above.

BigJessie you're going off on a tangent. Whether the super rich pay enough taxes is an entirely different topic. This is about everyone contributing to the essential services of the council, because currently there are many people who contribute nothing at all, and yet are probably some of the biggest recipients of state help.

No, that's a tangent you're reading into my post. I'm pointing out the flaws of only measuring financial contributions to society.

If every ad exec in my town took a week off, I wouldn't care. I would definitely care if everyone took a week off at the sewage plant!

The Super rich paying insufficient tax and keeping their assets off-shore is a relevant issue in that the people who are losing the most - as a proportion of their income - are the poorest sectors of society. People on benefits 'skivers' (including many working poor not earning enough to completely remove themselves from the benefits system) are demonised by the policy decisions of our current Govt and the way the Govt has chosen to communicate their policies.

Council tax Benefit changes will scare many people for whom even a £10-20 loss to their weekly income could be serious, when you have no savings cushion and no means of affordable credit.

The gap between the rich and poor has widened, the cost of living is rising, benefits are being withdrawn and the effects will be catastrophic on some families - collatoral damage to an Eton educated independently wealthy PM but not for the people living miserable lives in poorly managed private rental housing ghettoised by HB changes.

op for example if my council had the same rules as urs

the maintanance disregard is £10

so in my current circumstances if i have to pay 20% CT and i recieve £60 a week maintanance they will let me keep the first £10 and then the take into account the remaining fifty

so i will have to pay my sons maintannce towards council tax

im not putting it very well,ive looked on my council website but cannot find the details

That's exactly as I understand it thekidsrule.

thanks for reply

ffs its taken me 5 years to get this of my ex and now this

will have to enquire with my local council

Council tax is ridiculously high, and local councils run VERY inefficiently, many of them are still working as if it was the 70s, with gold plated pensions and very high levels of absenteeism and laziness. It's time that they were massively reformed and people got good value for money from their tax.

I have just found this article which explains a little more.

"Brentwood Borough Council plans to axe all council tax support to people under 25."

Jeez, can they even do this???

just spoken to my LA council tax department has no idea what the criteria/disregards are yet and will know in a few weeks

bloody hell the staff dont even know,arent they leaving this a bit late or maybe thats why,less time for complaints etc

what a bloody mess this countrys gonna be in this year what with this,cuts,universal credit and many more

I think the penny hasn't dropped for a lot of people about students. Some councils are doing away with the exemption for council tax for students.

I imagine it'll affect lots of parents here supporting DCs away at uni, but many are unaware as yet ...

I think I have to agree with LouMae really

quick look at the article op will look more later,thanks

may get a flameing but past caring,why are the oap exempt from many of these cuts,bedroom tax etc

were all in this together apart from the MP's mega rich and the OAP's from what i can see

but am prepared to be educated if im completley wrong

Of all the household bills we have to pay council tax is by biggest bug bear, it's much too expensive, it winds me right up. Mine is £190 PCM and I begrudge every penny of it.

I hate this government with a passion, keeping all their rich mates safe whilst robbing the poor, twats.

sounds fair to me. not a huge percentage. I would rather tham put it up for those who have to pay the full amount