Remember the Poll Tax, Cornwall councillors should
11:16am Thursday 17th January 2013 in Skipper
Your pal the Skipper has railed before against plans at the Blue Kremlin to make the very poorest people in Cornwall pay council tax.
Well Tuesday was D-Day, and to my great surprise, councillors decided to... not decide anything in particular.
So while we enjoy this brief reprieve, it may be useful to walk those in power down memory lane. Two decades ago, proposals very similar to those currently being bandied about sparked mass violent protest and the downfall of a Prime Minister.
Back then people called it the Poll Tax and the government of the day called it a “community charge”. But its underlying premise - taxing the poor more and the rich less, is just as unfair and counter intuative now as it was back then.
Never mind the fact that collecting cash from people who have none is difficult to say the least.
Now, it is no doubt very cheeky of the government to push the housing benefit responsibility onto local councils and then stand back and let them take the flak, but for Cornwall Council to pick up the baton and plan to victimise those least able to take the punishment is surely not the way forward.
We all know Cornwall is jammed to the rafters with second homes, so to my mind the simple, and as yet unmentioned, way to fill the funding hole is to ramp up their council tax to pay for it.
It may even help bring some life back to those areas that have long been cleared of any semblance of it outside holiday season.
Comments(11)
Gill Zella Martin 09
says...
4:31pm Thu 17 Jan 13
I suggest most Councillors do not have a clue what it is like to live on a very low fixed income. If they were to experience living off one they would not I doubt be suggesting/voting that those who do should pay council tax.
Chelz65
says...
7:56pm Tue 22 Jan 13
Localisation of Council Tax will hit so many low paid workers in Cornwall. Workers that are paid so low that's why they get the Council tax benefit in the first place. Come April they too will have to find ??% of their Council Tax.
Coupled with this is the bedroom Tax. A system that the Government tell us is brought in to alleviate the need for social Housing etc.
Yes, I have a spare room, well all 4.5sq m of it. At present HB pays my rent in full. If I were to take a 2 bed in the Private Sector HB would be paid in full at an amount a lot higher than they pay now!!
Cornwall Council do not have enough properties for people to 'downsize' to.
This isn't just about bricks and mortar, this is about peoples 'homes'.Some of which have been lived in for many many years. Is it right that people should be 'forced from their homes?No doubt we will hear many Cllrs saying "We feel like we are doing the Governments Dirty Work" Well I believe "They Work For You" should apply at ALL levels of Governance but at the moment I see nothing at all being done from Cllrs to help the working poor of Cornwall or people like myself.
GrahamHarris
says...
3:39pm Wed 23 Jan 13
I dont see why anyone gets discounts or even pays nothing.
Everybody wants their bins emptying and everyone wants the Police to turn up if necessary - therefore everyone should pay something!!!
Gill Zella Martin 09
says...
4:27pm Wed 23 Jan 13
GrahamHarris wrote:I agree you may have a point about everyone contributing something, however, how can you contribute money you do not have if your income is a set amount, different counties will now pay different council tax rates and yet the benefits will remain the same throughout the counties.
EVERYONE should pay council tax.
I dont see why anyone gets discounts or even pays nothing.
Everybody wants their bins emptying and everyone wants the Police to turn up if necessary - therefore everyone should pay something!!!
Gill Zella Martin 09
says...
4:40pm Wed 23 Jan 13
jane-w
says...
5:58pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Gill Zella Martin 09
says...
6:28pm Wed 23 Jan 13
I agree too, the 25% single persons discount should be means tested but there again it would probably need government legislation.
GrahamHarris
says...
9:43am Thu 24 Jan 13
If there's 1 person in a house they pay a certain amount, if there's 4 in a house they should pay more surely?
Whether you've got any money or not is irrelevant, each person should be paying for the services provided.
Gill Zella Martin 09
says...
5:18pm Thu 24 Jan 13
GrahamHarris wrote:You have a good point about the concept of a poll tax, however, not sure about if you have any money or not being irrelevant. When my husband died in his forties, he was seven years older than me, I lost my home because I could no longer afford the mortgage, I had two children one of which was not living at home any more, I was suddenly plunged into a situation where I had no money because I had to move and therefore give up my job. I was told I did not qualify for benefits as I was too young to be a widow(their exact words at the benefit office) and I had not paid enough national insurance contributions because I had stayed at home to bring my children up for years and therefore had not worked enough years to pay enough NI, therefore, on your theory how would I suddenly have been able to afford poll tax for myself and one dependent. This would have worked out dearer than normal council tax.
This is why there is absolutely nothing wrong with a poll tax.
If there's 1 person in a house they pay a certain amount, if there's 4 in a house they should pay more surely?
Whether you've got any money or not is irrelevant, each person should be paying for the services provided.
Lanty Slee
says...
7:10pm Tue 29 Jan 13
ronedgcumbe says...
11:57am Thu 17 Jan 13
It is the poor tax payer who will have to fund the court charges as people on means tested benefits will never be able to find this money.