Council tax

[Michael Rolls]

To my mind, local income tax is fairest. Many elderly folk nowadays are asset rich, cash poor, having bought property which is now much more valuable when they bought. Simple example. First wife and I bought a very ordinary semi in Surbiton in 1968 for £5995. A year ago an identical house just a couple along was on the market for offers OVER £750,000

[klondike]

Community charge does go slightly towards being a progressive tax in so far as bigger houses attract more tax than smaller but fails on at least these points..

Elderly people on low incomes still living in the same house they were in when earning a large income still have to pay the same on a lower income.

The charge levied  has little to do with those actually paying. Deprived areas have to fund a lot more in the way of social outlay but those living in them who actually pay will usually be those on lower income. I haven't checked but this is probably why Westminster rates are low.

The only fair way imo would be for all social provision to be nationally provided and community charge to be replaced by a local invome tax. That's complicated though so why  not fund it from general taxation.

This of course produces a huge problem for councils. They no longer provide any services and nor do they get any income so why are they needed? Oops.

[GrannyMac]

There could still be local councils organising some of the services, but it could mean fewer tiers of management, and possibly lower costs.  Perhaps social services, housing and education should be funded nationally.  Refuse collections and grass cutting and some localised planning could be retained.  Time also to reduce the number of councillors do we think?

[Dextrous63]

FWIW, I can't but help feel that a greater reliance on means testing seems sensible, perhaps even to the point that it is zero to do with a local council tax, but rather more an allocation of funds via central taxation.