Abolishing single person CT discount

[Iwishicouldflyhigh]

It won’t affect me, but this is really crap if Labour bring it in. I can’t imagine they will actually, it would affect so many people who already financially struggle from living alone.

AIBU to think this is DM stirring the pot?

I get benefits and I do not get a council tax reduction, all councils have different thresholds for this.

Bad policy IMO.

It’s already very very expensive to live alone - this makes that worse. Including for single parents, single pensioners etc.

I agree making it per adult would probably be better - as households with more people will use more services.

It never quite made sense to me that a HMO with 5 people pays the same council tax as everyone else given the additional pressure on local services this creates.

We are getting into poll tax territory then though.

Many councils are completely irresponsible with their money, 4 have gone ‘bust’ in the past 18 months. Their spending needs to be looked at before we start taxing people, single people especially, even more.

Im a single parent, I do use a fair whack of council resources. Rural so my kids get picked up by school minibuses which cost a fair bit. We produce more waste than a single person although I recycle everything possible./ separate out the food waste. I do get a small council tax reduction as I claim UC despite working full time. Everyone always thinks of Tesco et al not paying living wages but often LA don’t either.

It's all part of the Labour war on pensioners. A bereaved widow(er) will face a rise in council tax under this despite losing income from the bereavement and using less services. Pensioners can't work to make up the shortfall. Pensioners predominantly have voted Conservative so presumably this is part of Labour's punishment for them.

Also a war on women.

It will disproportionately affect women. Stastically more likely to be victims of DV (a common reason for being single), and also I think statistics have found that single women pensioners are one of the poorest groups in society.

This isn't a war on pensioners or a war on women.

This is difficult decisions needing to be made because the tories left us in such a mess

It’s neither, because it’s made up nonsense.

Difficult decisions definitely need to be made although I personally haven't drunk the Kool Aid on the BLACK HOLE. I'd suggest not giving 15% payrise to public sector train drivers who are already very well paid would have been a better decision than fleecing pensioners but presumably as the government is in the pocket of the unions I feel that being fair is probably too much of a difficult decision for them.

There’s no war on anyone - I actually find the whole ‘war on’ rhetoric fairly distasteful given there are six armed conflicts going on the world - this is a new government having to make unpopular decisions based on the mismanaged finances of the former government. But it is true to say that, as with most changes the money in people’s pockets that women and people who are more vulnerable disproportionately feel the impact of these changes.

If Labour do bring in this change, and there is no evidence that they will, and if it applies to me (e.g. if there is an income threshold), then I will just get on with it and not blame Labour for trying to address the country’s massive debt. It would seem at odds with their view on devolution of power across the UK were they do to so however…

There are groups favoured by Labour (public sector workers who are already paid handsomely with huge pension pots, unions etc) who will get pay rises, and groups that will bear the brunt in order to pay those payrises (pensioners, the private sector, savers). There's no two ways about it and it's a shaky old start by Labour.

Because we're already running a household on one income?
So say council tax is £100. That's £50 each for a couple (or less depending on how many adults living there)
A single person would pay £75, but you think they should pay £100 because "they use the same amount of services"
So they get to pay twice?

All this does it pit people against each other.

I'm single I live on my own. I pay 25% less than the couple with a child in the same block who use more services than me.

Personally I think it should be a 50% discount but I know that wouldn't be popular.

Per adult has already been tried. It was called the Poll Tax.

It's not the DM stirring the pot. Angela Rayner was asked about it, in parliament, on Monday and refused to rule out scrapping the single person discount. Councils are also asking the government to scrap the 5% cap on annual increases.

It's being reported in multiple newspapers. This does not mean it will happen just that Angela Rayner refused to say it wouldn't.

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/council-tax-discount-pensioners-single-parents-hammer-blow-3257955

As a disabled parent of disabled children living in an A rated inner city flat, it's been really helpful to have lower council tax. Those who are better off will live in a higher rated home and pay more.

This is a bit misleading. Councils in general have made a lot of cuts over previous years and, unlike central HMG, they must balance the books every year or declare it (ie going ‘bust’) and apply for emergency funds. Central HMG do not operate under this and can borrrow. Councils in some areas also have seen huge increase in demands for their statutory services without matching increasing financial settlements.

Not saying that Councils are flush or that some have not made financial errors, but your statement doesn’t quite follow in singling them out alone.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned cancelling student exemption. That one has always confused me. They still use resources and in student cities it would make a huge difference.

I’ve seen the transcript of what was said. It’s on this thread. She definitely ruled it out. She was asked a combined question about whether she rules out getting rid of this and increasing CT. She answered yes. It’s shit stirring to 8mpky she was only answering one part of the question. Trouble is, the press have got used to budget items being leaked in advance over the last 6 or 7 years and now labour aren’t doing that they are just making shit up.

There is a huge difference in council tax across the country. If you live in a band D property in Wandsworth you will pay £969 per year, a band D property in Rutland costs £2543. Plenty of people in band A properties in expensive council tax areas will feel the pinch if the single person discount is scrapped.

I agree, single person is vital for lots of single people.

Shit though that it varies so much.

No, she confirmed that Labour had no current plans to increase council tax but when asked to guarantee that the single person discount would not be scrapped she responded with:

"I find it astonishing that members opposite, after running down the economy in the way that they have, after the Chancellor had to come to this House to talk about the billions of pounds black hole, that they're now trying to claim that this Government is about raising taxes."

That is deflection, not confirmation that the single person discount will be protected. Not a single news report has claimed she confirmed Labour would not scrap the discount. All local and national newspapers as well as multiple newspapers channels are reporting that she refused to confirm it wouldn't be scrapped.

The discount might be changed that is all. Anything else I suspect is speculation.

As for the Daily Mail, one of their historic favourites ended up being a large landlord in later life.

There's also a huge difference in provision and quality of services across the country. I know from friends in London that London councils are particularly bad.

Wandsworth isn't a good example for London. Together with Westminster it prides itself on having the lowest council tax in the UK. Other London boroughs have much higher council tax. There's also the massive issue of social cleansing in London. Low council tax in Wandsworth, yes, but high levels of inequality within the area, and some London councils (maybe including Wandsworth?) ship vulnerable homeless people out of area, often far from family and their jobs (many homeless people are in work).

Re inequality within an area. Here's an example. London pensioners are statistically the poorest pensioners in the UK.

You're right though about the unfair regional variation. Single people on minimum wage or disability benefits or an elderly person on a modest pension in a rented 1 bedroom flat in London or the SE is often in a higher band, than an affluent higher earner or double income household owner occupier with a 3 bedroom house in another part of the UK.

Why don’t you wait for the actual announcements before getting your knickers in a twist.