to think I might as well not fucking bother?

[Handay]

Recently had a good appraisal at work. Put a bit of effort into it beforehand to make sure I gave specific examples of where I'd gone above & beyond, was a very positive experience and ended up getting a bit of a pay bump. Not that much, but at least a bit of a reflection on my performance, and I was quite chuffed with myself for the outcome. I'm not massively career minded so it was enough for me.

But then this week alone, the council announced that our council tax would be going up by 4.5 % and I also got a letter from our energy supplier telling me the bill was going up by over £90 a year.

This won't wipe out my pay increase but I will see less of it.

Aibu to wonder why I fucking bothered putting all the effort into my appraisal just to hand over more money to these bastards?

I doubt that my council tax does very much. Like I say, the bulk of council spending comes from central government (ie our tax) money. And everything they get they hand over to their mates on development boards or use for pet individual projects like making the street they live on a no through road etc.

Would have no quarrel at all if it genuinely did go to helping people who need it btw. They can't even empty the blessed bins round here.

of course it's disheartening.

Try getting a bonus and you get LESS than half and the rest goes away in tax. Sure, you could have no bonus at all, you are still better off than nothing bladibla. No one would actually cheer of seeing their cash disappearing.

Everything is going up - have you compared 2 food shops recently? If you do it online, you can do the exact same shop just to see the total difference.

I fear things are only going to get worst and most of us will end up with a lot less or nothing left after essentials bills. It is depressing.

About a third will come from council tax, a third from government funding and a third from business rates. Your council tax pays for care for people who really need to and couldn’t afford it otherwise which is surely a good thing? One adults weekly care package can cost the same as 4 or 5 people’s full year’s council tax. It’s the price we all pay to make sure people are looked after.

The problem with tax really is the message it sends, you work hard yet the government is going to forcefully deprive you of some of it to redistribute it to people who don’t bother.

Tbh mate like I said I wouldn't be as aereated about it if it really did go to people who needed it, whether they help themselves or not. It's when it gets spent on putting fucking bollards at the end of a councillor's street following a massive expensive so called traffic calming consultation undertaken by his mates just so he doesn't get as many people driving past his house that I want to hang on to more of my money.

Disorganisedmum yeah everything is getting more expensive. I do shop around when I can and am careful.

Also, a broader and perhaps more coherent point is that fixed living costs seem to be getting ever higher while wage increases do not keep up with them.

You’ve only just noticed? 😱

Your council tax pays for care for people who really need to and couldn’t afford it otherwise which is surely a good thing

I'd rather my council tax stayed in my own pocket, thanks.

I think charging people according to the services that they use within their area is fairer. So me & dp would only pay for refuse collection, street lighting, emergency services access etc.

The problem with tax really is the message it sends, you work hard yet the government is going to forcefully deprive you of some of it to redistribute it to people who don’t bother.

Finally someone who perfectly summarises how many of us feel, thank you

I don’t know where you live but willing to bet at least 75% of the money they spend goes on looking after older people, vulnerable adults (with disabilities or mental health issues) and looking after kids / keeping them safe. The rest pays for everything else - libraries, leisure centres, fixing roads, collecting rubbish, children’s centres and probably investing in a few regeneration projects to either bring in more business rates or create jobs

My council are most likely putting council tax up again in April, are cutting everything they can, selling off buildings, shutting toilets, reducing library opening hours, thinking of getting rid of all the seafront seating shelters, have 1 street cleaner - even in the summer and this is a tourist seaside town - but are spending 3 million on new offices or refurbing their existing ones.

I agree with @Eliza. Also I think council tax should be charged per head.

Eliza your council sounds like ours. Actually I think they're all bent. Private eye has a long running feature solely dedicated to council miss spending.

I worked for a council years ago that was spectacularly corrupt. Think criminal proceedings against senior managers, embezzlement on a massive scale, stories in the national press kind of thing. Was interesting really. But what also struck me during my time there was how incompetent a lot of the staff were. Not just the low grade clerical workers but a lot of management too. There were a great many people who just didn't know what they were doing. Even payroll couldn't get their shit together. I get the same impression from jobs I've had since where I have to deal with the council. So yeah I'm loathe to give them more money.

My council must be the most corrupt in the country, I don't know how they get away with what they do.

I've long said council workers must be vetted to choose the most incompetent, jobsworth, pedantic imbeciles, same as the job centre, HMRC, benefit offices, basically any government 'service'.

But only charging for what people use would mean that the small number of families who have children with disabilities that need significant amounts of support and care would essentially have to pay for that care individually - thousands of pounds a week. How would that be possible or desirable?

And you use far more than you state. You live on a street that is cleaned by the council, they fix and maintain the roads you use, light the streets, make sure takeaways and restaurants you use are clean and safe...

And who would pay for the services that try and keep kids safe and take them into care when they are not? Not sure anyone would consider or declare themselves a ‘user’ of that service. I’m glad it exists though

I’ve got no time for people who complain about their money but switching energy is too much effort. It takes 5 minutes.

You live on a street that is cleaned by the council, they fix and maintain the roads you use, light the streets, make sure takeaways and restaurants you use are clean and safe

Not in my area. We have a huge issue with lack of street cleaning, there is one cleaner for the whole area. Pot holes aren't fixed, there's a massive issue with this in Kent where they said it will take 6 years to fix them all if they did it or something but they haven't got the funds. Loads of roads gave their street lights switched off after a certain time of night. Even on the motorways. Quite a few takeaways round here are subpar and must be paying backhanders to stay open.

Spengler, just seen your definition. Well done for you and self sufficiency yet your house would still burn down.

If you don't want to live in a more-or-less collective Society, then you can take your UK qualifications/knowledge/wealth and go and live in many Countries around the World and live like Royalty.

The UK has got as safe and calm as it is because we started to look after the vulnerable around the start of the 19th Century (not in a great way, but people stopped shitting and dying in the streets, children stopped being abandoned, especially disabled children).

In those already deprived areas, do you think we'd accept one refugee, if they were fully supported whilst we live in shit, without there being riots?

Do you think when drug/gun/crime culture takes over, that we'd stay in our own areas, only?

That's if people's suffering doesn't bother you at all. It would still impact on you and yours.

I get the gist of what you are saying.
I am in my fifties and the difference now to when I was in my twenties is like a different world.So many are propped up by benefits and tax credits,housing buying and renting is obscene.Everything seems to be geared to keeping housing costs buying and renting as high as possible.You have help to buy which only benefits the builders.Thats costing many many hundreds of millions.That is government money,ie taxpayers money,why is it going to builders,Pershimmon anyone.Just to keep prices high.
How many have come into the country propped up by tax credits,so they can get a minimum wage job,good for these companies,not so for the tax payer.Please no one churn out that bollocks about negative net benefit.Go to the areas where they are under pressure,housing,schools,doctors,hospitals,and tell them how much a benefit immigration and the cost has been.

@SpenglerOswald
"Council tax is theft"

WHAT? So you don't use any local services at all? Or do you think they grow on trees? Load of bollocks.

WHAT? So you don't use any local services at all? Or do you think they grow on trees? Load of bollocks
I think there’s a lot of wastage in the public sector, and I’m paying for socialist vanity projects and a bunch of services i don’t use