Council Tax

[angell84]

I am from Ireland and I am looking at buying a house in the U.K. I am so shocked at the Council tax. It is so expensive! A minimum of 150 pounds sterling a month. We don't have Council tax in Ireland at all. Why is it such a huge amount?

Good question. Some goes to parish council, local council, county council, police, fire & rescue. It pays for local services, local roads, parks/playgrounds.

What happens in Ireland about paying for roads, street lighting, rubbish collection, playgrounds, parks, libraries, swimming pools/sports centres, things like that?

@nannynick our income tax pays for all of that

Am I right in thinking you don't have a tax free allowance for income tax like we have in the UK? If that is correct, then that is what pays for the council tax items.

We do have a tax free allowance. You guys are really getting a raw deal in the UK.
We don't pay council tax in Ireland.
And we don't pay water rates.
I really wanted to move for a change of scene, but uncovering all these rates I don't think I can afford it!
And it says if you don't pay your council tax you could go to jail! In Ireland - if you don't want to pay for your bins one week you jut don't out them out. It is optional when you want to pay it

But we don't pay for most medical services in the UK, you have to pay to go to the doctors, so it's swings and roundabouts. You have to pay for opticians and dentists, but it often isn't that expensive - £20 for a basic check up if you have an NHS dentist. Many people get free prescriptions and no-one has to pay more than £10 pm as you can get a prepayment card

Obviously housing in London and the SE is very expensive, but I believe that is also the case in Dublin?

My council tax is £100 pm and my water is £40 pm - those are relatively small bills within my whole 'cost of living' so I wouldnt' let those bills put you off. It's more about what you earn, what your housing costs are and what lifestyle you want.

Out of interest @angell84 - how much is a bin collection?

In Scotland, we pay council tax (average £150pm) which covers all council services, bins etc and also covers our water, we don't get billed separately for water like England.

Also, different to England, we don't pay for prescriptions, and we pay less for dental/optician services. Free uni for nationals also.