Council Tax Madness

[MorriseysMother]

I know nothing will be confirmed until the budget but what is this madness about doubling council tax for those on G and H bands. We are a G band, I appealed it when we moved in in 2001 but was told no because it would mean that almost whole road would have to be rebanded. Our house, not a mansion, but a modern a 4 bed detached was built in 1995 was put as a G band before it was built. The basis for all council tax bands are based on the 1991 value of the house and so our house should have been worth be between £160k & £320k in 1991. We paid £145k in 2001. We paid £800 a year when we moved in and we now pay £3700 a year so if they double it to £7400 it will be unaffordable. What annoys me is that you could not plan for this or factor it into whether your buy the house or not, you’re committed. If you move then that costs money, plus I don’t want to move, we have worked hard to build our home. Combine this with the rumoured increase in income tax how are we meant to afford it? At least we are still working, what about pensioners on fixed income? We are being taxed to death and punished for achieving. I am only glad I don’t have an electric car! Rachel from accounts is screwing us.

Rachel from accounts

This is exactly how we feel too. We also live in a band G house and cannot afford to pay more. The rumoured housing tax increases feel terrifying because they are not something that any of us factored in when we took out our mortgages. It feels like the goal posts are moving at a time when everyone is feeling squeezed and has nothing extra to pay these increases.
The speculation that this delayed budget is causing is political suicide for the Labour Party. I could not hate them more for the stress they are causing - the economy must be shrinking by the day because so many of us don’t dare spend anything until the facts about the Budget are revealed.

Unfortunately it is because no political party has wanted to face the fallout from reforming something that has not changed since 1991, even though property prices have risen so much and the rises are not evenly spread geographically. It means that someone in a Band G or H house in an expensive part of London might be paying less than someone in a B or C rated house in the north west:

moneyweek.com/personal-finance/council-tax-burden-highest-lowest-uk

I agree that it's not going to solve the problem to pick on one particular group of house owners. I may be being too optimistic here but I suspect that it is yet another item on the list of 'Let's scare everyone about the budget'.

This a Heath Robinson mess up to tackle a system that was a lash up from the word go.

It was obvious from the get go that unless there were regular revaluations Council Tax would go the same way as the General Rates where values were totally out of step with reality. We pay more Council Tax on a bog standard family house in a Northants dormitory village then the notional amount for Buckingham Palace.

Either government grows some balls and gets a revaluation going or try again with a clean sheet of paper.

I'm not in band G or H (thank god) but I really hate the council tax. It's my biggest expense each month apart from food (talking about regular bills here) and I have utterly no control over it.

I can't spend less and change it. I can't go out less and change it.

Yes I can move house I guess but I live in a box standard new build with tiny rooms as it is.

I would be quite happy to move to a cheaper, smaller house if I could get a detached house that was smaller.

For some reason detached houses always have at least 3 beds which frustrates me as I live alone.

I will try and get a 2 bed detached bungalow when I move but they are just as expensive and so I don't think that will help the problem.

When you live alone and get the 25% discount the bill is proportionally higher of course than for a couple sharing.

Anyway sympathy for you as you try and budget your costs and then they hit you with something outwith your control and it feels very unjust.

My council tax went up this year quite alot and it pisses me off every month when it leaves my bank account.

I can't believe they will actually double it for these bands. Surely that is just too much of a jump in one go. I did read somewhere about triple council tax on 2nd homes (I can't remember if it was empty ones) so you won't be the only person hit.

I wish they would just hurry up and get on with the budget rather than have us all worrying.

I think the 'poor widows' who are paying a lot of their income on council tax while remaining in a family sized home need to accept the consequences of their choice to do this.

The majority will have benefited from significant growth in value so while being cash poor are asset rich, if its a struggle but they don't want to downsize, they could always look at a lifetime mortgage to top up their income to help with bills like high council tax.

The budget is on whatever date its on. Its the media not the government that's printing alarmist stories, most of which won't happen and is politically motivated. You could always stop reading it.

Actually this is from the government. It is testing the waters to see what they can get away with politically. This has gone on since forever. SpAds and senior officials giving anonymous briefings to the press, indicating next steps and waiting to see which way the wind blows before the axe falls.

I strongly suspect council tax plus the income tax rise will become reality.