Not eligible for help with council tax. But if I was a diplomat I would be.

[pavlovthecat]

I am furious.
DH is not entitled to contributions based benefits after losing his job as he dared to take 3 weeks off unpaid when DD was born 2.5 years ago, and thus had a break in payment of stamp duty.

We earn too much money to be entitled to any help with our council tax, and the Single Person Allowance applies to single occupancy, not the number of people working.

We were stupid enough to buy our own flat, so not eligible for any housing benefits, and even if we were I am earning too much to get any help anyway.

However, if DH was diplomat, or if he was a criminal, committing a serious enough crime to warrant a custodial sentence, he would not be classed as a 'person' for council tax purposes and I would then be eligible for 25% discount on my council tax.

Rant over.

Clearly, I did not mean stamp duty, I was too busy ranting to notice that. I meant National Insurance contributions.

I know. It's so unfair, isn't it.

I would actually get more money coming in, if I reduced my hours as I would get more CTC and then also be eligible for WTC. How mad is that? You would think the government would be encouraging people to stay in work.

I know this is an old discussion, gone on for years. But I just needed to get it out.

Is reducing your hours an option then, in the short term?

One used to be able to make up payments for unpaid NI, not sure about know though - I lost my job many years ago and couldn't claim any benefits as my employer had been taking the NI and not paying it! I just paid what was owed, although it turned out to be way less than I ever got in benefits as I found a job straight away.

A good friend works for the UN, she is away much of the time, they get exemption.

Marmaduke - he can probably pay it back, but is it worth it? Like you, not intending to be unemployed very long.

Hecate - it is possible, but chances are it would need to be for 12 months under flexible working. I am not sure they would do a temp reduction. And I do not want DH to be unemployed for that long! Also, even if I reduce now, just for a couple of months - I am not sure that we would be entitled this year to anything more, as probably earned too much by now (it goes on yearly entitlement, not monthly doesn't it?). It might take a while too, then we would be stuffed for the time we have to wait for claim to go through.

Yeah council tax is a killer. SO expensive. You should all refuse to pay it.

A little sarcasm there dontswimintheliffey? I am not refusing to pay. I am just ranting over something I am not happy about. And, you know, its not that cheap to be honest.

not sarcastic at all. I will never forget the year i had to work evenings to pay it off. I was living in a flat that was a converted attic, and when I moved into it council didn't know about it, but then I inadvertently let them know and they came after me for a grand. I was earning a pittance and it was a studio.

so no, not being sarcastic at all. I think council tax is unbelievable. Just FAR too much.

Apologies then Dontswimintheliffey - I guess am a bit sensitive today - due on/pregnant - one of the two, not quite sure which yet .

no worries! understandable, when I read it back I could see why you thought that.

When I worked evenings in parcelforce that year to raise the grand, all the other girls in there were Australian or south african and they were all saving to go round the world AGAIN! They all thought I was a NUTTER saving to pay council tax. NONE of them had any intention of paying it.

I know its an old discussion but you're absolutely right to want to rant. Sometimes I think we should all rant a bit louder and then someone might listen.

I suspect I might be better off if I divorced MrViolet and /or reduced my working hours. We both work full time, and qualify for fuck all in the way of any benefits/tax credits. Tis a joke really. I think the single biggest thing the Govt could do to make life better for Mr and Mrs Average, is to stop penalising people who a) stay together as a couple and b) try to support themsleves.

well, I agree with you up to a point, but being on benefits is not picnic either.

I am not suggesting being on benefits would be preferable, more that, if DH was a criminal in prison and thus not providing me with an income, rather than being made redundant through no fault of his own, or, if he was a diplomat (which may well include a nice pay packet) he would be immune from paying I would too benefit from this.

And the reality is, that as of April, if DH is not working still, I would get £80 per month morein benefits for working 12 hours less per week, and once DD starts pre-school I save another £150 a month (as I will have flexibility to do the hours of the nursery, and thus get it for free), that is £220 per month better off for working less. (It will not be enough to live on, but we don't have enough to live on now, so DH working will always be preferable).

This is not a benefits vs working debate. I am merely stating how is for me.

I see your point because my parents were in the same boat, both teachers, not rich and they never qualified for any grants.

But we definitely wouldn't have gone to university or whatever if they'd split up!

Dontswimintheliffey - I am not entirely sure that not going to uni would have been bad, I mean really...how long will it take you to pay it off? I am still paying remnants of it off 10 years later.

You're right pavlov. I did sciences and my first job washing testtubes in a lab paid 14k a year, in london in 1993. I used to earn more in the jewellers shop I worked in before!

I've paid off the council tax now, but it would have been nice to be able to have used that money as a deposit.

There are a million and one interesting courses at the local tech, some cost £250! one caught my eye, dress design and tailoring. A lot of them are much more JOB orientated.

Anyway this really is a thread hi-jack so I'll shut up now!

It is unfair. I hate council tax. Isn't the 25% discount discrimination against single people though? I've always wondered why a person on their own should pay 75% compared to a couple paying 50% each for the same services.

Ninky - yes, I do not get that either tbh. Or, if it is a vacant property and there is furniture you pay a different amount to if there is no furniture or something like that...its all v odd, especially as it is meant to be based on the value of your property, so what has the number of people in it go to do with it any way? Otherwise, why is it banded in relation to house value (albeit old)? It just does not make sense.

pavlov -it's only foreign diplomats that get the discount.

Council Tax is 50% property based and 50% person based broken into 25% each adult, therefore if one person resides in the property over the age of 18, then you pay 75%.

You ONLY get the exemption for unfurnished property for 6 months maximum, so if you bought an empty house and the previous people had the exemption for 5 months you ONLY get 1 month.

If it is furnished you pay anywhere between 75-90% but most councils opted for a 75% charge as technically you would lie and say one person was living there to get it down from 90% to 75%.

If you are a single parent you would pay 75% UNTIL your child hits 18 then there are 2 adults living there. There are exemptions for students.

You may remember that they tried to do a fairer system called Community Charge and there were riots, so they brought in council tax instead.

Council tax pisses me off - I don't begrudge paying for services we use, but it pisses me off that despite the fact that DH is away for 6-9 months of every year we aren't eligible for a discount because he isn't away for 6 months all in one go.

My DH lives in London through the week for work so we have to pay out twice, at our last rental I qualified for single person occupancy as dh only here 2-3 nights per week. New rental is 20 miles away which put us under a different council who say we don't qualify so back to paying twice. We'd actually be better off if dh didn't work which is really really wrong in my opinion.

I know there are specific rules that work out how and why they decide how much people pay, they don't just say 'we decided' they use some calculation or other to explain it. And yes there has to some way of justifiying payment. Does not make it any easier right now when we are down one entire wage, do not earn a fortune in the slightest (we live in a flat fgs not rolling in it) but yet cannot access any help.

Rusty - this suggests all diplomats, as does a poster above whose friend is a UN worker.
'You will be not be counted if you are a member of a
visiting force, or a member (or dependant of a
member) of certain International Headquarters and
Defence Organisations or have diplomatic privileges
and immunities' (direct.gov.uk).

Piximon - If DH is not employed by April, I will have to reduce my hours at work, and then I will get more money, until DH gets a job (its slow workwise in south west, so who knows).

But British diplomats don't have diplomatic privileges and immunities in Britain, only in the country they are accredited to and, under certain circumstances, other foreign countries - I know, because my BIL is one.

If you look at the exemption forms(example) they say you must not be a British citizen or subject or permanent UK resident.