more council tax woes

[paulyoung666]

link , batten down the hatches

read that in the paper this morning. Shuffle the number to make it apear that the government is doing something. STOP WASTING MY BLOODY TAXES TONY BLAIR

Pensioners and "hard working people" who have lived in their homes for a number of years are likely to be among the hardest hit by the proposed changes, according to shadow local government minister Caroline Spelman.

so if you dont move house your house price doesnt go up!! What are they thinking?

[Paul M]

So people in houses worth £170,000+ will face small rises, and those in homes worth £310,000 or more will have bigger rises ? - Excuse me if I don't actually shed any tears for these "poor " people.

[Bifta]

People living in more expensive houses probably use no more facilities than people living in sub £130,000 houses and as such should not have to pay more to keep their useless local council afloat, when did Tony Blair become Robin Hood?

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by Paul M

So people in houses worth £170,000+ will face small rises, and those in homes worth £310,000 or more will have bigger rises ? - Excuse me is I don't actually shed any tears for these "poor " people.

Having a house worth 310,000 does not make you a rich person - in some areas buying a 3 be semi will set you back atleast 280,000 - and a lot of people struggle with that amount.

[paulyoung666]

and what about a house with 10 ppl living in it paying the same as 2 ppl living in it , that surely cant be a fair system , can it

Originally Posted by Paul M

So people in houses worth £170,000+ will face small rises, and those in homes worth £310,000 or more will have bigger rises ? - Excuse me is I don't actually shed any tears for these "poor " people.

I suggest you think about that again.

My mother lives in a flat in Clifton, Bristol, that is now worth over a *quarter of a million pounds* at current market prices! It was bought for about one *tenth* of that value around twenty years ago.

She's now collecting a pension, but *also* having to work and take in lodgers simply to make ends meet, she is by no means "rich"! So what do you suggest she do? Sell a wall? Or perhaps leave the place that's been her home for twenty years?

Oh and before you mention "home income plans" I would recommend that you look very carefully at the details because there are many examples of people facing huge debts, eg owing £105,000 for a £15,000 loan!

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...109208,00.html

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Graham

I suggest you think about that again.

My mother lives in a flat in Clifton, Bristol, that is now worth over a *quarter of a million pounds* at current market prices! It was bought for about one *tenth* of that value around twenty years ago.

She's now collecting a pension, but *also* having to work and take in lodgers simply to make ends meet, she is by no means "rich"! So what do you suggest she do? Sell a wall? Or perhaps leave the place that's been her home for twenty years?

Oh and before you mention "home income plans" I would recommend that you look very carefully at the details because there are many examples of people facing huge debts, eg owing £105,000 for a £15,000 loan!

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...109208,00.html

and i am afraid to say that i would have to second that post as well

[ian@huth]

What I don't understand about that story is the fact that property prices vary so much throughout the country. Each council has a budget which it has to raise the finance for by means of the council tax. If you live in a very poor area where all the houses are worth less than £130k then the article suggests that all council tax payers will pay less. Who makes up the shortfall to the budget if this is the case? Likewise if all houses were worth more than £620k everyone would pay more and therefore a huge surplus would accrue. Who gets that surplus? Am I missing something and are they setting national budgets for local authorities to draw from?

[etccarmageddon]

next general election is 2005

ministers want to expand the number of council tax bands in 2007


the cynic in me suggests that the timing is deliberate!

[Mr_Burns]

Originally Posted by Graham

I suggest you think about that again.

My mother lives in a flat in Clifton, Bristol, that is now worth over a *quarter of a million pounds* at current market prices! It was bought for about one *tenth* of that value around twenty years ago.

She's now collecting a pension, but *also* having to work and take in lodgers simply to make ends meet, she is by no means "rich"! So what do you suggest she do? Sell a wall? Or perhaps leave the place that's been her home for twenty years?

Oh and before you mention "home income plans" I would recommend that you look very carefully at the details because there are many examples of people facing huge debts, eg owing £105,000 for a £15,000 loan!

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...109208,00.html

Agreed, my parents bought their current house in 1976 for about £20,000 - it's now worth somewhere in the region of £350,000. They don't want to move, and took out a loan against the house when they retired to release some of the capital. Unfortunately, they will have to pay back more than 4 times the amount they borrowed if and when the house is sold. Even if they did sell now and paid back the money grabbing gits at Barclays Bank, they would have to buy a small house in an undesirable area - not what anyone would want for their pensioner parents. They certainly won't be able to afford a big rise in their council tax.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Paul M

So people in houses worth £170,000+ will face small rises, and those in homes worth £310,000 or more will have bigger rises ? - Excuse me is I don't actually shed any tears for these "poor " people.

I'm not poor and I live in an expensive house but I resent being singled out for more tax when the value of my house has rocketed for reasons beyond my control. I also produce very little rubbish and recycle as much as possible but the council will still put me in the top tax bracket.....t*ssers
As an aside, I have another property which is used exclusively for business, producing very little waste and using very little water (certainly less than a residential building) but we have to pay more rates than we would be for a residential property.

[Nikko]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

What I don't understand about that story is the fact that property prices vary so much throughout the country. Each council has a budget which it has to raise the finance for by means of the council tax. If you live in a very poor area where all the houses are worth less than £130k then the article suggests that all council tax payers will pay less. Who makes up the shortfall to the budget if this is the case? Likewise if all houses were worth more than £620k everyone would pay more and therefore a huge surplus would accrue. Who gets that surplus? Am I missing something and are they setting national budgets for local authorities to draw from?

You have stated my initial thoughts on reading the article exactly.

Also, if a house has edged up to £320K, they are giving an annual bill figure of 3 grand - £60 a week - £1.50 per hour if you work a 40 hour week, just to pay the council tax, out of already taxed income!

As others have said, thats not a particularly extravagant house in many areas, given the way prices have gone.

[etccarmageddon]

and you should be asking yourself where all this money is going?

(not just council tax but all the extra tax labour have taken in recent years)

I recon there is a lot of wastage in terms of admin/pen pushing government jobs.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

and you should be asking yourself where all this money is going?

(not just council tax but all the extra tax labour have taken in recent years)

I recon there is a lot of wastage in terms of admin/pen pushing government jobs.

exactly , there was a job advert around here a while ago for a top job in social services and they were going to pay around £90,000 / annum , and then there are all the hangers on underneath that person , boils me blood it does