Council tax UK

[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?

@angell84 we're £100 a month between us in council tax and we don't pay for water. We live in Scotland.

@OtraCosaMariposa "don't use the word England". Who the hell do you think you are? Don't talk to me like that.

Thanks for that information @smartcarnotsosmartdriver

@OtraCosaMariposa and you are mistaken. There also is a tax free income allowance in Ireland. You earn up to 16,5000 euro before you have to pay income tax

Aren't you the charmer?

So if for example water is free in Ireland how is it funded?

I know. You told us fifty times.

I have to admit, I don’t quite get the angst. Another country you want to live in does things differently. Were you expecting everything to be exactly the same?

@otracosamariposa aren't you the weird one? Imagine saying to someone "don't use the word England." What a weirdo!!

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat.

Look back one page: you asked me a question. Here it is:
"Do you pay for water OP?"

I answered your question. "No we don't pay for water".

You then said "I know you told us fifty times".

Weird. Why did you ask then?

Council Tax is a pain but I'm guessing we are all just used to it now, mine is £163 month and that's with single person discount

I was taking the piss. Grow a sense of humour FFS.

I am not from UK originally and we do not have council tax type of payment in my home country but I must say I never found it strange or even that high amount. We don't have to pay for things like bin collection which, if I remember right, cost me around 40€ a month back home and was not collected as often as here. Also income tax in general was higher.
We get a break down of where the money went each year with our council tax bill summary which makes me happier paying council tax than I am about paying income tax. I have not got a clue where most of that money goes to tbh.

Council tax is by far my most expensive utility bill.

Even with single person discount it is 12% of my monthly income.

In Scotland the water and sewerage charge is included in the council tax bill.

I believe in England it is charged separately from the council tax bill. So you may be looking at council tax bill plus water bill.

I am English. I have lived in Ireland for a very long time and now I am moving back to England. So, I will call England whatever I bloody well like. Honestly telling people not to call England "England". The people on here. 🧐

@HeddaGarbled summed it up quite well on P1

What people are trying to point out to you is that you will be paying in one way or another for all services that are seemingly 'free' to you. Be that water, be that bin collection be that the emergency services, be that filling in potholes in the road, be that street lighting, be that things that you might not use directly (like the court system / probation system / mental health services / social care / etc., etc., etc). The way all these things are funded is going to be different in different taxation systems (ie different countries).

I am on a middle income

I can afford to buy a home outright in the U.K

You can afford to pay Council Tax then. Most of the money raised by council tax goes to pay for social care for the elderly and for provision of children's services. If you don't want to pay for those things then I suggest you stay in Ireland.

If you’re English it’s a bit surprising that the existence of local taxation is a surprise to you. Did the poll tax riots pass you by? GP visits for adults in Ireland are only free for low income people - the limit is about €1200 a month gross income for a single person. If you’re on that sort of income level then you’re going to have to budget wherever you’re living. One of the things you’ll have to budget for in the UK is council tax. If you can’t afford it then don’t move.

It is taxed according to how wealthy you are, in that it's calculated based on the value of your home. Those in the more expensive houses pay more, others pay less.

Honestly you get used to it. I don't even think about it.

I was born here but go to Ireland a couple of times a year as both our families are Irish. I love it there, but I always thought it was quite expensive, especially food. My granny always had issues with her water supply and quality too - she used to have to buy in water quite regularly and lived right opposite the waterworks. We do pay £22 a month for ours but it is very reliable!

In Ireland many people also have to budget for private health insurance and there's also an additional income levy on top of income tax and prsi called universal social charge. VAT is 23 per cent versus 20 per cent in the UK. So swings and roundabouts I guess.
I've lived in both countries, I think both are expensive but money goes further and services are better in the UK. I guess other people's mileage may vary. Lots of my family in Ireland earn just over the threshold for any state support and then you have to pay for everything.

What is point of this thread. OP is arguing against themselves, and everyone else is trying to explain the system to them. OP if you don’t like the system, no one on here can change it for you. Making the same point again and again won’t make any difference.

@angell84

I realise I'm reviving an old thread, but wondering how you're doing with the 'ol council tax 2 years on. I moved from ROI to NI 5 years ago, and I still vom when that bill comes through the door. Mine is 2.3K GBP. On approx 50% tax, that requires 6.6K earnings. It's astronomical and I don't know how it ever became normalised and accepted. I understand it's cultural, but something tells me I'll never adapt to this one. It will always be absolutely nuts to me that people pay it out on top of general taxation.

[quote smartcarnotsosmartdriver]@angell84 we're £100 a month between us in council tax and we don't pay for water. We live in Scotland.[/quote]
Water rates are included in the council tax in Scotland

I find Ireland much more expensive to live though day to day! I’ve been in London 8 years - from dublin! I’m shocked every time I go home to be honest at how expensive it is there these days. And we have free healthcare here too! So it kind of balances out 🤣

Ohh it’s old 😂