I'm not saying council tax is fair on everyone chopchopbusybusy. But I think that a move towards an income based system is even worse.
Mortgage costs or rent are not chosen, they are, by and large, dictated by the area you live in and the year in which you bought your property. If you bought in the last 3 or 4 years, you could have a tiny house for the same cost as a 5 bed detached four years earlier. This already disproportionately bites into your income, and an income based council tax would compound the misfortune you had to be born at the wrong time.
I'm not talking hypothetically - where we live we have a whopping mortgage for a tiny property in the cheapest area where we can both commute to jobs. Rent would be even more expensive.
Equally because of said mortgage neither of us can afford to stay at home to look after the children. My salary contributes a few hundred a month net, but it is necessary for that reason.
I really feel for pensioners and people on very low incomes, because they do not have the choice to increase their income and see it whittled away each year by council tax. In fact 80% of the wealth in this country is owned by the over 50s, but they have a very effective voice in protecting this.
I think a fairer way of approaching this issue would be to ensure that the increases given on pensions and the indexes they are linked to reflect the increase in the cost of living like council tax.
There are taxes levied on property values in virtually every country in the world. We are very lightly taxed on property in this country compared to elsewhere.