Cut benefits before increasing council tax

[Bonde]

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/reeves-council-tax-hike-5HjdMrJ_2/

As an increase in income tax is now out the window, the government will have to look at other ways to fill the gap by increasing a dozen smaller taxes. One option, I think they will opt for, is to apply a surcharge for homes in bands F,G&H. It would be politically expedient to do so because many people will assume those in such homes are wealthy.

We purchased our band f property earlier this year at £550k. We live in London and didn’t want to uproot our family, and move jobs, so decided to buy our 2.5 bed house.
After mortgage and bills, we have £100 to £200 left over, but some months have nothing. An increase would be so difficult to manage.

Why can’t the government have the courage to cut benefits. You can buy a BMW or Mercedes on the Mobility Scheme! Why?

So true.

Martin Lewis did a great explanation on why CT has to be reformed and why those in the higher bands have to pay more.

As he explained, a Band C house in Hartlepool is paying more than a band F or G in Westminster, despite that house being worth many times more.

He also went on to say they'll be winners and losers but help should be offered to those who genuinely cannot afford the higher council tax and offer deferred payment, so CT comes out of the estate, where you ve an elderly owner house rich, cash poor.

But as usual, we always run into those with the most, moaning the most, they really are holding back the country.

Well if you look at my area all the listed buildings, even quite small ones, were given band F. The local story is that the council employee who was responsible for banding dumped them all in the same band. You can’t value houses accurately if they haven’t been on the market. Ours had been owned by the same family for a century when we bought it. And it wasn’t worth anything like what it was originally marketed at. Hence no interest for 4 years. Unless you update the record based on averages in the year a house sells it is all a fiction.

I agree. Every house in my road is band C or band D.

A large number of them have been extended over the years and some are now double the size they were originally, more in some cases, and are now worth significantly more than the non-extended ones. They also house more people and presumably have a greater impact on council services, but the family of 5 in a 5-bed house still pay the same council tax as a pensioner couple living alone in a 2-bed.

Revaluation of properties for council tax is well overdue imo.

Exactly

😂 love this

I could easily afford my Band F house because it's barely worth 300K - I can't afford my Band F council tax to double.

The funny thing about all this hysteria over tax rises is that Jeremy Hunt actually cut the rate of NI by 4% before the last election.

I don't remember all this shrieking over tax when we were paying 4% more in NI - seems to be only a Labour government that generates this crap.

As for cuts we've had nothing but cuts for fourteen years and guess what - everything is now more expensive as a result! What do you think happened to all those kids growing up in poverty, the ones who didn't have access to Sure Start, to help from CAMS, to youth centres? They're all costing us more money now!

FGS how about looking at the billionaires who pay sod all. Don’t attack people who are struggling too

He also increased corporation tax for 19% to 25%.

Oh ffs, I'm so sick of seeing these benefit bashing threads that are based on complete fabrications

The Motability Scheme is run by a charity, not the government. It does not cost the tax payer any extra if people avail of it

You do not buy or get given a car from the Motability Scheme. Every car is leased, never owned at any point

You pay roughly £300 a month to lease a car

Unless you lease a basic low engine size car, there is an initial additional upfront payment that is not refundable. This can be £1000s. You still don't own the car at any time

People should think themselves lucky that they don't need to use the scheme, rather than believing any old shit-stirring bullshit they read online. And remember the saying "there but for the grace of god go !"... anyone can become disabled at any point of their lives

Here we go again. Another disability benefits bashing thread.

Motability is a charity. If you get the mobility component of DLA/PIP you can either use it on a Motability car or spend it on whatever,

No one would save a penny if Motability stoppped tomorrow. 🤷‍♀️

How much more do you want to pay?

I'd imagine most of the people who live in these bands are property rich and cash poor ? She'll just make them poorer. Sell the house the rabble cry...............WTF should they have to ?!

Oh goodie, another poster who doesn't understand the Motability scheme whining about the Motability scheme 🙄

You do not own the car. For anything other than the most basic version of the most basic model you will have to pay an upfront fee, usually of £1k+. For the 'flash' brands, that's a more like £1k++++, and even higher for electric. You then have to pay £333.88 every month for three years (actually slightly more as it will increase every year, unlike a bank loan). This payment is taken out automatically before it reaches you, but the result is no different than if it went into your bank account and then you spent it on a car loan. Which would actually be more sensible if you had decent credit and/or a lot of savings as it makes considerably more financial sense to buy a car rather than lease it, as though it might cost more in the beginning, after three years you will still have a lovely shiny asset sitting on your drive. If you lease through Motability however, after you've paid over £12,019.80 in monthly payments, plus few thousand upfront cost, that lovely shiny asset is wrenched from you and you are left with precisely nothing. The only people harmed by removing Motability will be those without the means to buy a car, find it difficult or impossible to access cost effective insurance, or who need significant alterations. So basically the poorest and most disabled.

Well I suppose it makes a change from the many people claiming that you are given a motobility car for free. Honestly,I've heard radio presenters saying this, and certain right wing newspaper columnists.

In France they have signs in disabled parking spaces....si tu veux ma place, tu prends mon handicap. If you want my spot, you take my disability.

It's appalling that a 2.5 bedroom house anywhere costs that much. I honestly don't know enough ref economics to say what needs to happen. Yet, people at the top creaming off the general working public is always going to be my view ( I don't mean you OP).

Systems need to change. I can only think about my own personal situation. I went from high earner, excellent career, tax contributor to social housing and benefits. I don't have a mobility car. I'm too unwell so it's pointless. I know not one person with a BMW mobility car. Seriously.

If there was an overhaul of the Draconian rigid education system, the millions that councils pay towards SEN would not be necessary. We have an exploding non conforming society that requires systems to change. This is a key issue I see. I can't talk of all other societal problems.

I'm grateful for the system of financial support that keeps me kind of living. I absolutely don't live a nice life, no luxury. I'd swap tomorrow with a healthy person and go do my bit again.

What happened to me could happen to you OP. It's only a few steps away for every one of us.

Rachel reeves needs to go. Labour needs to go.

what twats voted for labour then….

Because the issue isn’t that people are claiming, it is WHY they have to claim.

Ive MH issues. I get virtually no support from my MH team. They won’t come up with a plan for me without a psychiatrists input. I have no psychiatrist. They think I need therapy but am too unstable. Nobody can prescribe meds as there is no psych to do it. The GP says I’m too unwell for them to deal with.
If MH services were properly funded, many more people would be able to get help and then go back to work.
If somebody was diagnosed with cancer, stage 2, it would be treated with urgency as it is recognised that early intervention is key. With MH, people are left until they hit crisis point. Then they are very far down the road. And there are very few inpatient beds, if you are admitted you are ignored and just offered meds, no therapy.
We would not accept an NHS that said you needed a stage 4 cancer treatment before you got treatment but we accept that for MH. It’s a shitshow. And that’s why many of us give up.

There is no way people pay enough tax in this country for the kind of services we expect. Labour understands this but unfortunately British people are averse to putting their hands in their pockets when it matters. What a sad state of affairs.

The difference in cost of the same band across councils is also very stark

An increase of even 25% ( similar to Band G hike in Scotland ) would mean a bill increase of around £1k a year. Larger houses = more beds ( usually) = larger families with kids.

re image below on average Band F is £500/yr lower than Band G

@SwiftasthewindI hope you’re rectifying this with payment

You do realize that you CANT just waltz into a dealership supply proof of PIP (which is a hard benefit notoriously hard benefit to be awarded) & drive a top of the range car out? My bf is housebound without me, he can't walk far enough to even reach the bus stop. He has worked 2 jobs for over 20 years (building sites then forklift driving & club doors on the weekends) an injury sustained on a building site is now why he has a degenerative condition. He is entitled to the top entitlement of PIP for mobility & as such gives up that portion a month for a mobility car. Previous to him receiving PIP we survived on my wages I'm a skilled worker but don't earn much over min wage. We chose a car that we didn't have to put £1000's down for. You do realise that don't you that the prestige cars carry a big down payment? We could of had a mustang for a £26,000 non refundable down payment!

I've worked 50 hours this week to keep us afloat before you jump on the bandwagon of using the disabled as low hanging fruit to be penalized how would you feel if your husband was no longer able to do the job they loved & had to rely on benefits & you to keep him would you think the same then?