Households facing council tax rise

there is a poll being done but wots your views



Millions of low-income households face a steep rise in their council tax bills from April, according to new research.

Some 74% of local authorities in England are planning to increase their demands on families whose council tax is currently discounted or even covered in full by the Government.

From April, however, the system of council tax benefit will be scrapped and authorities asked to introduce their own council tax support scheme, but with a 10% cut in funding.

The study by the Resolution Foundation independent research group found that some councils were planning to charge affected households an extra 20% of the full council tax bill. Some households faced increases in bills of more than £600 a year.

Researchers warned that a variation in rates of council tax support could undermine the Government's new universal credit, which is meant to simplify the welfare system and ensure it always makes financial sense to take a job.

The report's author, Matthew Pennycook, said: "The axeing of council tax benefit has major implications for universal credit, which is supposed to be all about simplifying welfare and giving people a stronger incentive to work.

"These changes undermine both goals. There will now be a highly-complex and confusing patchwork of local support while the low-paid will keep even less of an extra pound in earnings than the Government has claimed."

Gavin Kelly, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: "Millions of England's poorest households - both in and out of work - are already very close to the edge given falling wages, tax credits and benefits. Very few of those currently exempt from paying the full rate of council tax are expecting a large new bill to drop onto their doormat this spring. When it does, they are going to find it hard to cope. The new system will result in hard-pressed councils spending scarce resources chasing some of the poorest people in the country for non-payment."

Local government minister Brandon Lewis said: "Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last administration and welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit we have inherited. Under the last administration, more taxpayers' money was being spent on benefits than on defence, education and health combined.

"Our reforms will localise council tax support and give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending the 'something for nothing' culture and making work pay. Under the last government, council tax bills doubled. The coalition Government has worked with councils to freeze council tax for two years, with a further freeze offered for this year. We are cutting council tax in real terms for hard-working families and pensioners, and we are on the side of people who work hard and want to get on."


@YahooNewsUK on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Just yet more drain on income for the low -middle earners..Rip off Britain!!!

To be honest Mick I couldn't give a stuff anymore, the government are stuffing us right,left and centre, the bankers are robbing us blind and still making a fortune miss selling plans, our savings are disappearing at a rate of knots, there's little interest on our savings and that disappears with very fuel rise.

I will just lay back and think of England or roll over and die.

dont die we need your post

I think its a fair system, everyone should pay something as its to easy to vote when your decision won't actually affect you, everyone should contribute something from the money they have or else not have a vote.

As for the other part of the increase that is going to be brought in is the so called bedroom tax ? which means if you are receiving support that support will be tailored to your needs, e.g. 1/2 people one/two bedroom property. So if you are on your own or there are just two of you and you are in a 3/4 bed property you will have to find the difference yourself, that to me seems fair.

It should help to free up some of the larger social housing stock for the more needed people with children, which is surely a good thing,

Everyone can't have everything.

Quote :

Everyone can't have everything.

Seems you can if your an MP or a Banker.

I agree with the MP getting more than they should as they bring very little or nothing to the economy but take a lot out.

However there is no getting away from the fact that without the Financial Services Sector our Economy would be in an even more serious situation than it is, they are the only ones keeping us afloat.

Mp in most case work for the people who put then there us we may think they do nothing try liveing in one of country they do nothing british banking is a joke

People put these MPs into power after listening to there promises before each election and then when elected they renege on their policies, as for the bankers they sell you a plan that is supposed to be the right one for you and invariably it is only right for them NOT you.

People power means sod all in the UK, the government say this is what we are doing like it or lump it, try that tactic in France and the people are opposed to it, it invariably gets thrown out or amended to suit what the people want to happen.

I gave up believing any parties promises long ago ,apart from them breaking promises ,what party ever does or promises to do anything for the people in the middle ,ie the ones who are not rich but work dam hard all there lives for little reward, everything seems centered on looking after the fat cats or giving hand outs to the lazy ba--ards and the immigrants

That's exactly my thoughts Baza

British Banking and the rest of the British Financial Services that are part of it are what keep this country afloat, we may not like it, but its a fact, and the sooner we stop bashing them the better, as if we keep on blaming them for everything they will eventually get fed up and go, and then we will be left with nothing.

While they were generating the growth the Governments were spending it by raising benefits to a level that meant you were better off not working and we were enjoying it in terms of the value of our houses etc etc. all going up and up for no reason, just that people were allowed to borrow more and more money because it was cheap.

People were buying motorhomes at 30 -40 -50 - 60k or more, more than some of there houses cost when the purchased them, we all have gigantic TV's go on more and more holidays all on the back of this growth that was fueled by EASY MONEY being generated by the banks "Whoopi" lets keep it coming and buy some more things GREAT,

And now its all gone we want to blame someone, well were and still are part of it we were all in it together,

The biggest problem can you imagine how the next generation and the ones after that are going to get on, NO CHEAP HOUSES, No Well Paid Jobs, and dept up to the eyebrows paying of the Good Times We Had, there the ones who will be saying in a few years look what those B's have left us with it will take generations to pay this back ?

End of Rant

Sorry Brian, I disagree with your sentiments of the glorious bankers, I do agree we need to keep them in the UK and they do have to make a profit but they have systematically bled the people of the UK with their huge bonuses and in house collaboration fixing all kinds of rates, yes we went through the easy money period but who allowed us to do that, "the bankers" they led us all down the slippery road to ruin with no thought of the future consequences, profit being their main focus.

Not so sure I agree with you Bob. The Bankers didn't lead us down the road to ruin, it was our (the publics) greed of wanting everything NOW, didn't want to wait and save. What's saving? The Bankers offered, but the sensible resisted. Did you ever have a 130% Mortgage on your house? We never went more than 50% because you never knew what was around the corner.

Unfortunately there have been generations of parents that did and still do give their kids everything, when they wanted it, despite whether they could afford it and so it continues.

I think the Bankers are our only industry that is working, don't keep knocking them, we need to look to ourselves.

Hi,

I don't see them as Glorious, I just think we need to start living in the real world, they were given/told to make as much money as they can when the gloves were removed by the Government of the day, and they did and we spent it.

Under the last government record levels of benefits were paid and are still being paid and tens of thousands of government jobs were created out of this profit the bankers were making, not manufacturing jobs that would have a longevity and pay for themselves, no government/council jobs which didn't generate anything, they just used the profits or tax from those profits to pay for them, and now its all gone, and people are having there benefits cut, Government/council workers are losing there jobs THATS NOT GREAT.

That's not the fault of the bankers they were doing what a Capitalist system works under making a profit, it was the bloody government not putting some of it away for a rainy day, because ITS pee DOWN Now

The capitalist system that we live under and I have no problem with demands that Profit is the Main Focus, it seems that for anyone to run a business they need to make a healthy profit and banks are no different.

But they never stopped us either or warned us that we where on a slippery road to ruin, they never flinched when after paying a private pension for 37yrs I lost every penny in bonuses when I retired and when I queried it they told me to look at the small print, "things go down as well as up"

Funny that when they are picking up millions in bonuses.

i remender watching tv programe about banks lending to americans to buy homes fanny may would not touch then now there are streets and street empty deserted recks thousands of then dont tell me banker are good remove the ..b.. with a .w . no one ever payed me for a balls up

I'm really sorry if you got stitched up with your pension, honestly I am.

But we the country didn't want to be told you could have a problem if you keep on spending all the profits we are making, no one wanted to her that, it was LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL, and ROLL they did, until we reached the bottom of the hill and ran out of steam, now its WHO CAN WE BLAME, I know, THE BANKERS,

I don't feel sorry for them at all, but we need them and we were just as much to blame as we were more than ready to spend what ever they brought in,

While I do feel sorry for you and your pension, the real losers here are the future generations, because they are going to be paying off OUR GOOD TIMES for years and years and years, poor buggers

Whats that smell ohhhhhh its bullsh-t lot of it about , the workers got sh-fted
if they got it right or wrong, like Mick said I never got paid for a balls up ,
Now I will retire from this thread

Just because the money is there you don't or didn't have to take it, you are responsible for your own actions.

The big problem was the Government, they didn't ask us if we wanted them to take out a mortgage on our behalf they just took it out anyway, they used this mortgage that they didn't ask us if we wanted them to take, to increase Benefits by 10 fold and make thousands of non existing jobs in the Council/government sector and used it to pay the wages.

They were allowed to take out this mortgage based upon the income they were getting from the tax on the profits the bankers were making, all went well until the bubble burst big time, now lot at the S??t we are in.

Its the Goverment that should have known better they didn't have to take out such a big mortgage did they, but they did because it would get them brownie points ?

[quote="Braunston"]

it should help to free up some of the larger social housing stock for the more needed people with children, which is surely a good thing,
/quote]
totally agree we need somewhere to house all the Romanian Gypsy's that are due here this year.

You can sleep easy they won't arrive until 2014

[quote="rebbyvid"]

Braunston wrote:

it should help to free up some of the larger social housing stock for the more needed people with children, which is surely a good thing,
/quote]
totally agree we need somewhere to house all the Romanian Gypsy's that are due here this year.