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COUNCIL TAX CAMPAIGNERS WARN OF FURTHER HIKES IN COUNCIL TAX
CHRISTINE
Melsom, founder of the Isitfair council tax protest group, issued
the following statement.
"Council tax continues to receive a great deal of media
attention and there is renewed concern about revaluation of
properties as the basis for massive increases in tax. In addition we
have the prospect of intrusive property inspections and the
introduction of additional sources of local taxation.
Whilst some of the reports may not, at present, be based on hard
evidence we expect that council tax payers will continue to be
treated as an easy target for hikes in taxation via the annual
tradition of an inflation-busting increase in bills in return for
diminishing services. It is beyond belief that the government can
even contemplate heaping yet further burden on to people already
struggling to meet the present levels of council tax.
In addition to the well-publicised concerns about future council tax
increases we would like to draw attention to the rapid and
uncontrolled escalation in the cost of parish councils. The
government likes to trumpet the fact that your annual council tax
increase has been capped since 2004, despite this year's 5% cap
being double the rate of inflation. But they prefer to keep their
heads down when questioned about increases in the parish council
element. Parish council charges are not capped, the consequence of
which has been that the overall increase in many people's council
tax bill this year was well in excess of 5%. We raised this issue
many months ago with the Minister for Local Government Phil Woolas
but our concerns have been dismissed.
This is a serious issue, particularly in the light of last month's
government White Paper "Strong & prosperous communities"
which encourages everyone to believe that the future of local
government will involve parish / neighbourhood councils being given
greater powers. We see these proposals as a justification for
further hikes in council tax and an additional layer of bureaucracy.
At present there are over 8,000 parish and town councils, mostly in
rural areas, but there will be a dramatic increase in this number if
the White Paper's proposals come into effect. Urban areas will get
them under a different name, such as neighbourhood or community
councils. The names may be different but the impact will be the
same, i.e. even higher council tax bills!
Council tax was introduced in 1993 with average Band D in England
set at £568 - it is now £1268, a rise of 123%. Over the same period
inflation was 39.7%.
If Band D tax had risen in line with inflation since 1993 it would
now be £794.
The Isitfair campaign wants a fairer system of taxation to fund
local services. The present system of council tax results in people
on low incomes who are not receiving means tested benefits paying
the highest percentage of their income in council tax.
We encourage everyone to stand up and fight against this iniquitous
tax - tell your elected representatives what you think about council
tax, and demand a fairer system of taxation for local services
related to everyone's ability to pay."
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COUNCIL TAX PROTESTER SENTENCED TO 32 DAYS IN JAIL
CHRISTINE
Melsom, founder of the Isitfair council tax protest group, issued
a statement to the media last week. Let us know what you think
about it. Email our Skype your views to our news room
today. The statement reads as follows:-
"There seems to be no shortage of prison cells when it comes
to dealing with people who protest against the unfair nature of
council tax.
Mr. Richard Fitzmaurice is the latest person to be jailed for
withholding payment in protest at the unfairness of the present
system of council tax. Yesterday he was sentenced at King's Lynn
Magistrates' Court to 32 days in jail.
It appears that local councils now have a deliberate policy of
picking off people who are making a principled stand against the
present system of council tax. How else can they explain that
council tax arrears of over £500 million remains uncollected, but as
soon as someone has the audacity to object in principle to the
unfairness of the system they are dragged before the courts and
imprisoned for up to 3 months.
There is a vicious circle - the local councils claim that 'they're
doing their job', the government says 'it's the
responsibility of the local council' and the magistrates say 'we're
enforcing the law'.
Can any of the people involved in the course of action that has
resulted in the jailing of Mr. Fitzmaurice for 32 days really
believe that they are doing a worthwhile job and that justice has
been done?
How many more people will have to be sent to jail for protesting
about this unfair system of council tax before a sufficient number
of our elected representatives have the guts to rise above party
politics and do something about it?
Isitfair will continue to protest against this unfair tax and will
not be intimidated by the bully-boy antics of local councils.
Filling the already overcrowded prisons with otherwise law-abiding
citizens who wish to register their protest against this tax is
making the authorities look ridiculous."
£1
BILLION CSA WRITE-OFF MEANS MORE INJUSTICE FOR FAMILIES
MERSEYSIDE
members of the UK's leading family lawyers group have expressed
dismay that £1 billion of debt owed via the Child Support Agency to
parents by their former partners may be written off in government
plans to reform the failing agency. Resolution, the
5000-strong campaigning family law group, says the government is
refusing to listen to the real issues and risks creating a new
system which is even more unfair and ineffective than the current
discredited CSA.
Local Resolution spokesperson, Jo-Anne Lomax, of West Kirby law
firm, Lees & Partners, is concerned that the government's plans have
not been properly thought through. "Write-offs on that
scale would represent a huge injustice for thousands of families who
have been failed so badly by the agency," she says.
She gives an example in which a parent with care (PWC), who the CSA
claims is owed £70,000 by her former partner, has agreed with her
ex-partner to accept £30,000 rather than face getting nothing:
"The lawyer has drafted an agreement which confirms the agreed
arrears payment. It now simply needs the assistance of the CSA to
remit the remaining outstanding arrears but they are saying they
cannot assist. In the meantime, the children concerned go without
the money that is available to provide for their needs and both
parents who want to resolve the matter are left powerless."
Resolution has put forward a detailed proposal to deal with both the
backlog of existing cases and a system which avoid similar problems
arising in the future. These include the scope for couples to agree
their own arrears settlements, via the courts, and for the courts to
have a greater role in assessing child support payments where they
are already dealing with financial matters around divorce. |
