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?

My son ( 26 and working above minimum wage) could pay the ' poll tax' if that was ever brought in as long as it was fair and not as much as council tax is. It would be a contribution towards local facilities if nothing else. He lives with us and pays keep ( which pays our own council tax !)
I can see why it was scrapped and brought down a government, but maybe the principle of it isn't that bad ( for some anyway )
People would get away with not paying it though so it's not fool proof , but it's controversial too.

Oh I see. Gotcha. Well I think in this case that we are discussing on this thread, I'm going to use it according to the arguments I've already made above.

Council tax should be made up of different parts imo.

The first could be linked to income (they have the figures for this anyway through HMRC).

The second based on the area of land your house is located on (again easily calculated from the Ordnance Survey, Land Registry and geospatial mapping (UPRN). Linked to this there should be compulsory registration of currently unregistered land. Imagine all the rich landowners that sit on thousands of hectares.

Thirdly, there needs to be revaluation of property (a terraced house is not the same value everywhere). I think it was the early 90s the last time this was done on a large scale.

This would bring further employment to the Civil Service and in turn more tax revenue for the government.

Further employment to the civil service?? Haven't they got enough to do at the moment?

Yes you could either add "Debunked" or better still "Daily Mail lying again about CT Discount"

That works too!

Ive reported the thread and hope MN will edit it. We’re supposed to be here to support each other as parents, not to wind up and scare each other in order to shit stir politically. Too much of this happening is the world right now and it’s really stressful for people.

While I think it's good to make sure people discuss things in exactly the way one would prefer according to one's views, it was widely reported. I attach a screenshot of the Telegraph although recently even the Telegraph have been a bit sensationalist recently.

But are the people living in their multi-million house actually using much more of the local authority's services than people in the cheaper house? Possibly they are costing the LA less because they might send their kids to private school, or if they need social care they will probably have to fund it themselves.
Maybe a poll tax with an income element is the answer?

Council Tax is a weird thing though. I'm in a small flat earning a high wage, big pension pot and with a large amount of savings earning some pretty good interest yet I'm paying the lowest amount.

Compare that to a skint family living in a larger house and they're paying twice as much struggling to pay all their bills.

If it was up to me, I would scrap it and have an income tax ringfenced to local service provision.

(Note - This is not a stealth boast, I think the tax is unfair).

Poll Tax riots, anyone?

It's obvious a single person uses far less in services than a couple or multiple occupancy house.

Social care and SEND is the black hole where so much English Council tax money disappears according to articles.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/jul/25/5bn-debt-crisis-of-special-educational-needs-could-bankrupt-english-councils

@pinkgown Agree people in multi million house are not likely to derive greater benefit from local authority services. But, poll tax was extremely unpopular as it was a higher proportion of poorer people's income

Current system tries to be fair ie higher CT if house is expensive but discount for single people. In a sense this is a poll tax with wealth (not income) element

In any system, there will be winners and losers

I lose interest quickly in the contributions of anyone who uses the term 2 Tier.

It's very telling that those who use the term are reluctant to articulate why.

Does it strike a nerve? Apologies if so. I think it's a pretty good way of encapsulating Sir Keir's (if you prefer me to use his title) general approach to his cronies and favoured groups. Disappointing start for Labour.

@Scandiviews1
No - additional recruitment not workload

I'd suggest a reduction in the state payroll would be a better way forward.

No it doesn't "strike a nerve" whatever that means. There, you managed to use his name in that post. Well done. Not too hard, was it?

I think you're right @parkrun500club with this
Maybe the best idea would be to increase central taxation and councils get a grant from government, everyone gets the same and there's no postcode lottery as now. it's not right that some people get better local services than others. So effectively the direct opposite of what the Coalition and Tory governments were trying to achieve.

It seems ridiculous and unfair that access to and quality of provision to often pretty essential services is dependent on where in the UK someone lives - something that isn't always a choice (it's not as if everyone can move somewhere else - and anyway that would then add pressure on public services where they moved).

I've noticed on threads where someone needs help, sometimes a poster will suggest checking what support is available in their local area. It's shocking to me because these are services that should be available and of good quality in every area.

It seems to be an unpopular and unfashionable view maybe but I think important public services should be nationally funded and operate on national standards of quality and provision.

We might always have "naicer" areas than others but I don't think important public service provision, quality, and access should be a postcode lottery.

Thank you very much for your help.

And NOW they are going for the single dwellers No they're not. Apparently been debunked in parliament. See second post.

Bang on! Well said and indicates that single people are being financially discriminated against rather than privileged. Running a household alone, particularly as a single parent, a disabled, long term sick or elderly person is hard enough as it is without making it financially harder. If anything, it would be fairer to increase the discount and look to make up the shortfall elsewhere, from people fortunate enough to be well off and not the only adult responsible for financing a household!
No one wants to be the people who pay more, but someone has to and it should be those who are cushioned enough by high incomes that it won't be too painful for them. They wouldn't be happy about it but they wouldn't be pushed into penury either!

Kemi Badenoch said: “It’s been reported that the Secretary of State is being lobbied to increase council tax and remove discounts like the single occupant discount Will she take this opportunity to reassure the House that the Government has no plans to increase council tax as they assured us before the election?”
Up to the word 'discount' KB made a statement. She then asked a single question about increasing Council Tax. It was to this single question that AR answered 'yes'. AR has not ruled out abolishing any discounts.

There should be a consideration of the differentials between what each band pays. When you could sell a terraced 3 bd for £50k and buy a 4 bed semi for £125k, the differentials made sense. But now the difference between the two £300k-£400k, and the top end for houses has gone into the stratosphere, it's ridiculous that a lower band property should be paying about half a percent of value each year in council tax, and a £3m mansion should be paying only one tenth of a percent.

I've reported it too. They need to edit the title. People should check whether things they post are correct from a better source than the DM/Telegraph/Sun/Express which we know print rubbish

9 out of 10 of the lowest council tax areas in the country are in London. The cost of band A council tax in more expensive areas of the country may be more than a band C/D in London. Average council tax in Chelsea and Westminster is significantly lower than my council tax for an average 3 bed semi. None of the top ten most expensive council tax areas are in London.

Quality of services do vary and paying more does not necessarily mean better services. Where I live is not affluent but it is sparsely populated making it more expensive to deliver services which means our council tax is high and yet services are still poor and deteriorating all the time.