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?

I do a lot of volunteering with charities for homeless people in Karnataka which takes up a lot of my spare pocket change, but I would gladly pay extra if the government required it of me.

As should any good citizen who cares about the wellbeing of all.

Yep, let’s just make the poor even poorer. Well I’m quite happy to swap the broken metalwork pushing in to my spinal cord for your half a million pound house. Unfortunately though you still won’t have enough money to live on once you’ve paid for the mobility car each month. Hope that helps alleviate at least some of your suffering anyway. It must be quite taxing. See what I did there?? 🙄

Yet another poster who doesn’t understand how the scheme works.

I know Council Tax is odd but I am struggling to see how a £550k 2 bed house i London is Band F. We are in London in a decent size two bed flat we paid £330k for 11 years ago and we are band B.

And to make matters worse, the property will be basically unsaleable as no-one looking for a 300k house will be prepared to pay double council tax so effectively the house is no longer worth 300k and should not be in that band . RR is just a puppet for the left wing back benchers so nothing sensible will ever get through and we'll just be in the same position next budget because they will have done nothing about the runaway benefits bill in the meantime so will be looking for even more from an unspecified group of working people who are somehow not deemed to be working people by these utter idiots

Which benefits do you want to see cut?

You're very fortunate that you are in a position to afford that.

Sadly many are not in a position to afford to "pay whatever the government require of them" in spite of working full time

We have some of the lowest benefits in Europe.

People with massive houses, particularly in the highest band need to pay more. The amounts need to be equalised so a Band D is the same amount beverywhere and this should be set at the average for the band. More bands need to be added and more money from council tax needs to go back to councils.

https://www.gov.uk/dla-disability-living-allowance-benefit/DLA-rates

If you can find me a BMW or MERCS for this money I'll pay your council tax.

Well, we're talking about completely non-tangible things here so we can't really pin it down.

I suppose I do question the validity of it to a degree. I remember having really, really bad anxiety growing up, they used to call it 'social anxiety'. I couldn't even speak to people without going red.

But I left home as a young adult and simply had no choice but to push through. It worked like exposure therapy.

I don't know how great it is to say 'okay you can just have this money and work less'

I don't know why that's more valid either than saying that to someone like me, a mother working part-time to properly raise children.

If you are crippled by anxiety you can still work, and it is too open to abuse. So I think if we have to cut benefits, it should be for that.

I remember renting (with friends)a massive, two storey, three.bed, three bathroom warehouse conversion flat in inner London, which our landlord must have paid £500k for over15 years ago and that was Band E

The op is in a 2.5 bed house, it’s not massive at all.

Maybe these people you speak of can spend a few pounds a week less on their cans of lager, smokes or whatever vice the lower classes indulge in these days. It all goes a long way when added up throughout the month.

The person on mobility scheme is paying for it out of their PIP. Not getting a free car.

If the government were to cut my incredibly meagre benefits I'd literally have such a low quality of life that I would rather be on a psych ward. In fact I'd be so distressed I'd probably need one. And that would cost them a lot more!

iIs the fact that Op doesn't wan to have her taxes raised - she wants disability benefits cut to make their lives harder - sticks in my throat and makes me want Op to have an very uncomfortable bed for a good while

I think council tax could be fairer. It doesn’t seem right that some in a 30 roomed mansion would be paying the same as a some one had bust a gut to buy a house (probably still very nice, but not at all mansion like) at the bottom of band H.

However, you are very unreasonable for your judgement on disabled people

My house is only Band C and yet is £2100 per year. It just isn't really comparable across the country. The value of the house is about £350K.

Your anecdotal personal experience doesn't prove that everyone with anxiety would be ok if they were just forced to get on with it. You clearly have no idea of how debilitating an anxiety disorder needs to be to get awarded PIP.

There is a world of difference between the social anxiety you describe of not being able to talk to people without going red and the kind where you are so anxious that the only way out you can see is to kill yourself. Or being so anxious that you believe you must be an absolutely terrible person and you can't move from your bed. Or being so anxious that you need reassurance to even make yourself a meal. There is nothing intangible about any of that.

@Bonde why are you starting a thread involving disability benefits when you know fuck all about them?
I know someone with severe arthritis that has to take very strong prescription medication for it with unpleasant side effects.
She's had her mobility car removed from her without explanation and she is struggling to take her two children to school.
Don't talk crap.

I'm sorry that you are worried by all the leaks in the press, @Bonde. It's been unhelpful to say the least!
The reality is that they will both try to increase taxes and cut spending because they are rightly worried about the bond markets responding really badly. We've already had several shocks but no breakdown quite yet. Unfortunately, if you only have £0-200 left over after essential bills (assuming you mean food and essential travel too), you have stretched yourself too much to buy. Housing in London and many other places is far too high so you have my sympathy.
If Labour do persist with increasing taxes on property, they should revalue all property and introduce a lot more bands at the higher end so that people pay in proportion to the actual value, not a relic from 35 years ago.

I feel for people who may have bought their house 30 years ago but with property price increases may now find themselves in a 500K property which they may then have to pay tax on, their council tax will already be higher anyway. People assume someone in a 500k house chose to have a mortgage that big whereas the house may already be paid off and now cannot afford to live in it. In 20 years time my house may be worth 500k and I am by no means wealthy. Thankfully this government wont get a second term

Council tax bands were set in the 1990’s.

Yes, of course it's grossly unfair. I doubt they will do anything about it though despite the unfairness.

The Government are Fabians check out fabian society the are trying to follow the one world government playbook make everyone poor rather like communism. They care not for wealth (apart for themselves). Blair started the push, and is behind starmer. The country allowing open borders, treating them well and with leniency...unsettling the population... its being played out the same across europe, australia, canada and, until Trump, in USA. Remember Klaus Scwab of the World Economic Forum quoted as saying "you will own nothing, but be happy" google it all. This is why we are gradually unable to afford housing, have to cut back endlessly. Homeowners will lose houses , farms close etc watch lots of news channels hunt around on these topics. Get following it all. Are we happy enough yet....sadly not i fear !!

Reverse that. So low paid workers deserve to be practically homeless and relying on food banks as long as the chosen few are OK.

Ideally no one should be suffering but at the moment benefits claimants have a better lifestyle than many low paid. That is not acceptable. Even by saying that you are branded "unkind".

Opinion appears to be changing but the IMF will sort out the situation and ultimately to the detriment if everyone.