Council f**king tax

[tinkerbellax]

So my council tax has been put up yet again. This is a bill that as a single parent, cripples me.

My bins now get emptied every couple of weeks.
My library has been closed
Today in my local paper it has been announced that extra funding for SEN children has been cut!

Wibu if I fight crime myself and empty my own fucking bin?

Tenants didn't used to pay under the old rates system either.

I'm bristol but city split into 2 councils

Bristol labour have upped their council tax
They had a 40k a year biscuit budget
They shut most of piblic toiliets
They on about shutting children's centres

Im South glos just
They given up some parks and handed them to parish council so freind has parish precept bill to pay
Huge cuts in youth budget resultinh in more anti social behaviour.
Failed ofsted on sen
Bin collections been fortnightly for years
Then they started charging green bin collections.
Recently replaced to small midget sized bins.
Decreased libary open times despite consultation not too.
Building loads of new homes so actually has more residents

They both rubbish in different ways.

Well what do you realistically expect. Either they charge a lot more for decent services, cut services even further than they already have or, put taxes up a bit and cut a bit. They can't pull money out if thin air.

Our bins are collected every 3 weeks . Our housing association says we need to keep our bins in a bin shed and in summer last year it absolutey stunk due to our twins dirty nappies and was riddled with flies and maggots

It does seem nuts for tenants to pay tax set at the rate for an asset that they don't own
moreover the value of the asset tends to be proportional to the local infrastructure, so the landlord benefits from council spending in the form of increased asset values whilst also extracting rent from tenants as they pay to use the property.

All this happens without the landlord having to lift a finger

the purpose of taxation is to redistribute wealth so that it doesn't become concentrated in the hands of an extractive elite

I agree basing a tax on the value of the property is silly, but I disagree in principle with taxing assets. That's why I think it should be based on the amount of people consuming the services. Council tax was never designed to redistribute wealth, it was always intended to pay for local services, even under the old rates system. There is a progressive element basically because people thought the community charge was unfair, despite it being much fairer to small households or people who happen to live in a valuable house but have a modest income, e.g. inherited from parents or spouse, rented, bought very cheap property and made renovations. If you want to take money off rich people just because council tax is not the place to do it.

My council has reduced full time jobs by 3000 since 2012 to reduce spending

The amount it costs to empty the bin 42p per week of my council tax - it would cost me more in petrol to take my own rubbish to the tip. Tbh I only put mine out once a month

I think the library cost me £1 per week

Most of my council tax is spent on adult social care and what’s the alternative?

My council tax, after discounts and CT benefits, has gone up £3 over the year. Last tear paid £166 in April and then 9x £163 until January. This year paid £169 in April and will now pay £163 each minth until January 2019

@ivykaty44
Most of my council tax is spent on adult social care and what’s the alternative?

Adult Social care, bearing in mind, the care involved would be what most people would class as medical care, should be funded by general taxation, not CT payers, many of whom are hardly well off, plus its also guaranteed to provide a post code lottery of care too.

So my Mum, completely bed ridden, double incontinent, suffering after affects of a serious stroke and on end of life care.... classed as needing Social care..... fcuk off, its a con, she needed 24hr nursing/medical care.
What a way to treat a former nurse who d given her entire working life to the NHS.
All Governments should hang their heads in shame for allowing this debacle.

Adult social care is funded by general taxation, at present government still adds to ct payments as not enough money is raised through ct

Jashas

Every government since the baby boom in the 1940s has known that an ageing population would be needing care in a particular time frame. To have ignored this consistently for the last 70 years has been a high budgeting fuck up.

My local town is riddled with loose paving slabs. In the winter when wearing my boots i have to be careful i dont trip. In the warmer weather when wearing shoes i have to be careful i dont trip but if i tread on a loose slab which moves and its been raining i get a soaking wet foot and ankle.

Its dangerous and people have had accidents.

Council tax sends me crazy.
I'll never forget the pamphlet we received years ago when the CT was increased yet again....it was to top up the fire brigade pension pot!! Since then I have lost ALL respect for those in the public sector. I feel as though the private sector is forced to pay the retirement package for those working in the public sector. It makes me livid!!!

Not only do I have to budget for my own meagre pension, I'm being forced by law to pay towards some other sods pension too, no doubt some bone idle twerp who's never done a days work in his or hers life. I know plenty who work in the public sector and Oh' to hear them moan how badly off they are.

Jeez, sends me totally doowally ...arrrrgh!!!

Mrcharlie, wow next time you get robbed or need the police remember To tell them how lazy you think they are and how much you begrudge paying for thier services and pension, same if your in a car accident and have to get the fire brigade to cut you out - do make sure you tell them how idle they are.....

"I feel as though the private sector is forced to pay the retirement package for those working in the public sector. It makes me livid!!!"

Everyone pays for all oublic service salaries and pensions (includung the recipients of them, as they are taxpayers too).

If you want the T&Cs of public service (including the pension security) then go and work in it. It recruitment freeze has ended.

If you'd prefer a higher income now (which is the trend, but not the inevitability IYSWIM) of being in private sector, then you also accept the longer term cost (risk of pension insecurity, and no defined benefit)

If you want lower council tax, then the best way to got it is to vote Tory btw. Tory council areas generally have lower council tax for same level of services even when all councils are having central funding reduced.

And of course disinclination to pay more council tax should that people may not really want a higher tax central government. the bill for social care is still the bill for social care, ditto the public health responsibilities and whether it comes out of local or central government revenue.

If you don't pay the taxes you won't get the services. Taxes for a better NHS means more council tax, assuming you count preventative public health and social care as issues critical for the health of the nation

Can I recommend a few of you get jobs in the public sector then see what it is really like.

Yes, central government is moving to withdraw all central funding from councils. Local councils are now supposed to rely solely on local funds to supply all services. So local business tax, and council tax. That is why you are getting cuts and higher local taxes.

Spot on. The revenue support grant from central government used to account for over 80% of local government spending, it is being reduced to zero. Councils are very limited in what they can cut: education spending is mostly devolved to schools under a formula, and the cost of adult social care is rising exponentially. These are the 2 biggest council expenses.

Councils can only cut services where the law doesn't specify the level at which the service must be provided. That's why things like libraries are so vulnerable: the statutory level is "comprehensive and efficient" and what that means isn't defined in the legislation, ditto waste collection and highway maintenance.

In areas where property values are low, the rise will be disproportionately greater. Band D tax is 100% of the average, band A 67% and band H 200%. Given that 1991 valuations are still being used, there are probably authorities where there aren't any properties above band A, so that 67% has to be 100%. And to add to this joy, about 4-5 years ago the government abolished council tax benefit, leaving councils to set up their own schemes. Some didn't, and most schemes are less generous than CTB was (even the poorest have to pay 20% where I live).

The district council where I live has the dubious distinction of having been in the top 10 most expensive areas for years, and for a few years was the highest in the country. We pay £1,828 for a band C property. Our roads are so bad that you can tell when you enter the county, but we still get weekly bin collections. We have to buy our own bins though!

Local income tax seems like an attractive option, but the people who get away with making loads of money and hardly paying any income tax would get off lightly again. The tax take is not predictable - an area that suffered big job losses would lose a lot of income. A property based tax is much easier to collect - houses don't move and disappear. A local income tax would increase the pressure on the "just about managing" wage slaves.

TL,DR - it's the government's fault.

Mines gone up from 85 a month to 116 and that's with 25% discount as a widow/single parent 😡

YANBU to be annoyed. In parts of the city where I live the roads are crumbling and there is litter everywhere because the bins only get emptied once every 3 weeks and in that time the seagulls tear the bags apart.

The council isn't to blame though - they have had their funding slashed (combination of Tory austerity and long term SNP council tax freeze that saves us money in the short term but destroyed local services and amenities).

Here's to a labour government before it's too late to bloody salvage

Where exactly is all the money going to? Obviously I get a detailed list of how much goes to different departments but it's so complicated it just boggles my mind

Everything the public demands from central government is where the money goes. Those services you want, the parks, The roads, The police, social services the fire service the liaison officers the finance workers the libraries...all that is where the money goes and with staff come overheads and pensions (which the staff contribute to btw). The "why isn't this being done" leads to new projects and new calls for funding...

Have you looked at the council tax bill and the make up of it. Mine is £2158. Of that the County Council is £1,510 (social services, education, highways, dumps, elderly), police is £207, fire £92, parish £38 and the local council who collect my bins £309. That £309 works out at £5.90 a week to empty one of of my 3 bins. You try getting Serco or capita to empty your bin for £5.90 a week. Not forgetting that £309 covers other functions too like street cleaning, food hygiene services etc. It isn’t the collection of the bins that costs it is the ever growing cost of adult social care. That is where people should be focussing their anger not at their local district council.

when the general election finally comes don't vote for the Tories.

You’re very naive if you think the Tories are the only ones who will put up the council tax, despite empty promises (SNP....... cough......)

All future governments will continue to put up the council tax. The cost of adult social care has to be funded somehow.