Jul 2008 04

What's yours is theirs, too7

BigbrotherThe government, in a familiar Machiavellian fashion, snuck out this week a new plan to seize more and more Council Tax from those who simply can’t, or won’t, pay.  After years of locking up pensioners and other protestors, they stared defeat in the face after Derby City Council decided to write-off Josephine Rooney’s unpaid Council Tax bill.  As she declared the Council weren’t getting a penny more, the Council marked the money unrecoverable and, as a result, wrote off the debt.  Setting such a precedent, which could see other taxpayers withholding Council Tax increases, the Government have unveiled new plans to invade personal bank accounts to get the money come-what-may.

In a speech to the Local Government Association conference, local government minister John Healey announced plans to have the government invade personal bank accounts to get any money withheld through protest. 

Healey said that it’s a matter of forcing those “who can pay, but won’t” to pay up.  But this is a complete misnomer.  Many Council Tax rebels I have spoken to, and campaigned with, do pay.  They just refuse to pay the often extortionate increases, when we all know the money isn’t exactly going to the frontline.

We have frontline staff pegged at 2% pay increases, yet Councils splash out on whopping pay increases for Chief Executives and other pen pushers sat in Town Halls.  Add onto that the all too frequent pay increases for councillors, the non-jobs and waste and you can see why some taxpayers refuse to pay the increases.

Rather than bleeding more money out of taxpayers, the solution – that everyone can see apart from the governing political class – is to find ways to cut taxes at the local level.  We released a series of reports stating how Councils can cut taxes.  Did they recommend a cut in services – no.  In fact it’s been the TaxPayers’ Alliance who has defended weekly bin collections as the political classes fought to restrict yet another frontline service. 

Should the government attempt to implement such an invasive measure to plunder the bank accounts of Council Tax protestors, it will no doubt be met with the fiercest of opposition from this end, because it simply isn’t the solution.   

We’ve seen government invade our privacy, misusing anti-terrorist legislation to spy on individuals going about their daily business.  Now we face seeing the government using its powers to invade bank accounts and appropriating as it sees fit.  Everyone in the real world has to make careful decisions over their spending as the economy enters tough times.  Government should do the same and not treat the British taxpayer as their private pot of cash. 

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  • Hardeep_Singh

    I would welcome such a stringent course of action in pursuing legal cases against misbehaving celebrities and bankers that have thrown the economy into a freefall with their irresponsible actions. Yet the government as always wants to act like a mobster and call around for it’s ‘protection money’ and stating that you don’t want to pay or can’t pay isn’t what they want to hear. Mobsters use force but those injuries hopefully heal the government decimate lives in an instant, shame on you. We are here to work for ourselves, our children and our families NOT the SUPREME SOVIET.
    My money and that means MINE NOT YOURS. A fair contribution for tax is fine but daylight robbery most certianly isn’t. How would it look if they reported this on BBC Crimewatch and mentioned that 82 year Alice how can’t afford to eat nor heat her home yet the Council are demanding their money ……

  • http://profile.typekey.com/lanes1977/ lanes

    if the government start invading peoples bank accounts i can see people taking all their money out of the banks and keeping it under their mattresses i certainly will

  • http://profile.typekey.com/KeithEdmunds/ Shadow

    Another example of the corporatism, redolent of Soviet Russia, by this discredited Socilaist Government. Since 1997, our personal liberties have been eroded more than in the previous two hundred yeras!

  • Paula

    Yes this government has gone too far – again – I too will close my bank account. Although you shouldn’t kid yourself that they aren’t already looking at them anyway. If you do close your account, particularly if you are self employed, keep records of every penny you spend because if you should have a tax inspection they’ll hate that they cant rake through your account and may come up with all manner of estimates as to your lifestyle. If you cant prove what you’re spending, and what on, they’ll “Guess” – and it wont be in your favour. The fact that the tax inpectors are now on bonus’s, as well as targets, means that they’re more cunning than ever – and probably more corrupt because of it. Who are the enemy? The “Terrorist’s” or the government? Bad enough that the “Big Boys” can rake through your private life without the monkey’s in the councils doing it too.

  • Caggif

    Why am I not surprised at this latest information. Councils can already snoop through our windows to re assess our rateable band, in our bins to make sure we’re recycling our veg peelings, get our vehicle details off the PNC if we throw an apple pip out of our windows, and spy on us with CCTV cameras at least 20 times a day, so why should our bank accounts be immune from their snooping??
    Perish the thought of the little hitlers they employ at my local council knowing what I’m worth to boot. I think I’ll just close my account and emigrate!!

  • Johnbluk

    Well there is one way out of this…
    cancel all your direct debits and standing orders at once. Don’t pay your council tax up front, and only pay by cash installments.
    What we need is a real superhero to kick this governments ass – whatever happened to that nice chap…what was his name now??
    Ah yes…… Robin Hood, (retired by not forgotten).

  • http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2443942/30876024 alex

    This country has lost control of its government,
    time we (the voter) got it back.
    A database showing which way any MP votes on any
    issue should be set up to show if they vote for
    themselves, their party or in the interests of the constituents they are supposed to represent. It
    should be easily viewable by everyone. We
    would then know who to boot at the next election.
    The same should be done with the councils.
    Time we got rid of the wasters and useless and
    replaced them with people with integrity and honour.