Apr 2009 16

Council tax protest in Haywards Heath11

Today the TPA and our supporters were at the Haywards Heath magistrates’ court – along with some members of Isitfair – to support Terry Reilly (centre) who was protesting his above inflation council tax bill today.

Haywards Heath 002 

Haywards Heath 004 

Haywards Heath 005

Below you can read Terry's powerful statement that sums up the iniquity, incoherence and injustice associated with the Council Tax system:

"I plead not guilty under-paying £143.95 but I will admit to paying £450 more than I should have done.

As a lone pensioner I have paid £6000 to Mod Sussex District Council in the last 5 years in Council Tax. Whereas a family in the average dwelling in Manchester have paid £3,800. I am not a Council Tax rebel I am a Council Tax victim.

I attended this court in October last year and was given a number of assurances that were later denied. The assurances were given by Miss Cordery and Mrs Evans of Mid Sussex District Council and, because of them I was persuaded by them not to appear before the magistrates. My integrity was called into question by someone in Mid Sussex District Council who did not like the newspaper reports and I can no longer trust Mid Sussex District Council.

I wrote to this court to ascertain what judgment was held against me.  I will read the response to you

“With reference to your letter dated 12/01/09 we would advise you that we have passed your letter on the Mid Sussex District Council for them to deal with . We do not keep a record of any individual council matters heard at court as the Council merely use the court as a venue to conduct their matters”

… I am concerned that a Court of Law does not keep records and I have to approach the prosecutors for such information.

I became aware of the seriousness of the situation in 2003-4 when Council Tax went up nationally by 12% but in Mid Sussex it went up by 18.4% repeat – 18.4%

I then realised this was unsustainable and would lead to problems for pensioners, and those of fixed incomes and the lower-paid.  The Audit Commission report also read “A general pattern emerges which shows that regions in the South with lower grant increases had higher council tax increases  and those in the midlands and the North with higher grant increases had lower council tax”

From time to time I have written to Central Government and the responses have been arrogant and patronising. For example, when I asked why Mid Sussex District Council had increased council tax by 154.4% in 11 years I was told that they had acted “within the rules” and the government would not defend me. I was also told that I could get free eye-tests, and council tax benefit was available when I had run out of money. I have also had meetings with my MP and have exhausted all the channels available to me.

Let me mention ‘Relative Resource Amount (RRA) . This allows central government to assume that in the South-East everyone is wealthy because property costs more. In 2008-9 West Sussex was surcharged £127 million whereas Durham was surcharged £40 million. Government grant /head was £124 in West Sussex but £300 in Durham.

Further examples:-

Council tax for ‘average dwellings were as follows:-

                                    Elmbridge (Surrey)      £1692

                                    Mid Sussex                  £1444

                                    Horsham                      £1488

                                    Durham                       £1060

                                    Manchester                  £768

This is the effect of political manipulation by central government by more than £600 per average dwelling

The government have decided that because I live in West Sussex I can pay more Council Tax than Jack Straw; Hazel Blears; John Prescott and Tony Blair

With a few exceptions (one being Westminster) the government have decided that if you live in a part of the country that does not have a Labour MP you will be punished financially .

If aid is required for some parts of the country let it be transparent and not from the pockets of pensioners in the South-East.

In 2004-5 when I first paid my council tax in line with the RPI the difference was £32.15, five years down the line it is now £143.95 which is more than 11/2 times the basic state pension, which, I remind you is the same amount nationwide. Mid Sussex District Council as agents of central government have attempted to rob me of 11/2 week’s state pension.  This does not accord with pronouncements by government agencies and councils that we, the elderly should be cared for and respected.

As of February 19th 2009 158 people owed £1000 or more council tax for 2007-8  Also, 459 owe over £1000 for 2008-9.  This is in excess of £600,000.  Where are these people?

I am a pensioner who has lived in this country since birth, and I am a law-abiding Christian.  I do not own a baseball bat or a Rottweiler, and, I am therefore a soft target.  I have to pay for all my needs including my own videos; bath-plugs and barbecues!

I have control over my water consumption by meter. I can turn down the thermostat and wear extra clothing to minimise my heating bills. There is no escape however from this iniquitous and regressive tax which is politically manipulated.

Perhaps an adjournment to call a representative from Mid Sussex District Council to confirm or deny the validity of my figures would be appropriate, also, to confirm or deny that we in West Sussex are being taken advantage of.   If we look around, we do not see bankers, MP’s, Doctors accountants etc. We see retired people on fixed income and the lower paid.  They have one thing in common – they are hurting.

I urge you to not only sympathise with the plight of thousands of pensioners but to make it clear that you will not tolerate the political and financial abuse that I have outlined and I plead with you to find in my favour

I thank you for your time and courtesy."

Please pass this blog onto the leader of Mid Sussex District Council, Cllr. Gordon Marples ([email protected]).  Tell him that we're overtaxed and reiterate the points in Terry's statement above.

If you can spare the time, please also send this blog onto Mid Sussex district councillors who can be contacted on the following email addresses:
Cllr Andrew MacNaughton – [email protected]
Cllr Gary Marsh – [email protected]
Cllr Stephen Barnett – [email protected]
Cllr Susan Seward – [email protected]
Cllr Andrew Barrett-Miles – [email protected]
Cllr Jacquir Landriani – [email protected]
Cllr Heather Ross – [email protected]
Cllr Julian Thorpe – [email protected]
Cllr Anne Jones – [email protected]
Cllr Pru Moore – [email protected]
Cllr Patrick Cutler – [email protected]
Cllr Kathleen Dumbovic – [email protected]
Cllr Graham Knight – [email protected]
Cllr Janice Henwood – [email protected]
Cllr Eileen Balsdon – [email protected]
Cllr Mandy Thomas-Atkin – [email protected]
Cllr Sophia Harrison – [email protected]
Cllr Mark Livesey – [email protected]
Cllr Dorothy Hatswell – [email protected]
Cllr Ian Pearce – [email protected]
Cllr Mike Watts – [email protected]
Cllr Brenda Binge – [email protected]
Cllr Edward King – [email protected]
Cllr Liz Bennett – [email protected]
Cllr Peter Reed – [email protected]
Cllr Andrew Brock – [email protected]
Cllr Bernard Gillbard – [email protected]
Cllr Ian Dixon – [email protected]
Cllr Chris Jerrey – [email protected]
Cllr Heidi Brunson – [email protected]
Cllr Jean Glynn – [email protected]
Cllr James Joyce-Nelson – [email protected]
Cllr Edward Matthews – [email protected]
Cllr Sue Hatton – [email protected]
Cllr Peter Martin – [email protected]
Cllr Richard Bates – [email protected]
Cllr Brian Hall – [email protected]
Cllr Paddy Henry – [email protected]
Cllr Irene Balls – [email protected]
Cllr Clive Chapman – [email protected]
Cllr Garry Wall – [email protected]
Cllr Jonathan Ash-Edwards – [email protected]
Cllr Margaret Baker – [email protected]
Cllr John Besley – [email protected]
Cllr Jane Keel – [email protected]
Cllr Chris Hersey – [email protected]
Cllr James Temple-Smithson – [email protected]
Cllr Gina Field – [email protected]
Cllr Susanna Kemp – [email protected]
Cllr Jack Callaghan – [email protected]
Cllr Margaret Hersey – [email protected]
Cllr Andrew Lea – [email protected]
Cllr Christopher Snowling – [email protected]

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  • Chris P

    So many things about this anger me:
    How can it be fair for there to be such variation in Council Tax levels? This is further evidence of the UK’s appalling postcode lottery.
    The fact that we have no Labour MPs around only makes this worse. Surely the Conservatives should be making a principled stand on tax and justice? Clearly our inflated bills suggests otherwise, and any attempt to deflect the blame to central government rings hollow with me. I’ve had enough of politicians always looking for someone else to fault for their failings.
    The routine and unjustified above-inflation increases are a disgrace. Furthermore, I know that interest rates and such have be outsourced to the “independent” Bank of England, but ultimately inflation *is* the fault of government. Why should *we* take the fall for it?
    Getting to the bottom to the Right Honourable Mr Reilly’s tale (for I think he deserves that title more than any of the parasites infesting this country’s halls of power) I was left in dibelief at the shear number of Councillors listed for Mid Sussex. For such a tiny area of such a tiny country as England, just how many of these trough-feeders do we need to “govern” us?
    One note of caution though: do we really want Council Tax replaced with yet another so-called “progressive” one such as local income tax, for surely this only punishes those who currently work to better themselves? Those of us in the dwindling private sector find our payslips raided far more than enough for PAYE and NI as it is. Living in a smaller dwelling is one of the few tax-reducing avenues some of us have left.
    All the best to you, Mr Reilly. Pensioners like you who use your retirement to fight injustice like this are blessing.

  • http://www.isitfair.co.uk Christine Melsom, Isitfair

    Chris as you say we have to be careful about any replacement for council tax. None of the main parties have suggestions that do not involve a property tax in some way or another. The Lib Dems will say their idea is not a property tax, but a land tax. There seems very little difference to me – my garden in Hampshire will still be valued at more than someone living in Hazel Blears country. It will still be based on the size of my garden if not the house itself. So how will that make it fair? Terry has been protesting for some years and certainly is prepared to go on doing so long into the future. I am quite sure that there will be some legal eagle in the Department for Communities spending his time (and our money) trying to change the law yet again with the intention of deterring people like Terry.

  • http://profile.typepad.com/franhill franhill

    Every opportunity should be taken to give support to any pensioner brave enough to take on the council bullies and the spiral of local tax. Unfortunatly there are not enough of us doing so. Get a meeting with a councillor, they spend an hour talking to you, suggest you should do something about the matter, make no notes, and as you were the only one at their surgery they hope, you, having let off a bit of steam, take the problems away with you. There was a mass trespass of Kinder Scout in times past. Is it time to trespass the streets of our towns and cities with pensioners? Sorry cannot agree Local taxation as it is now called should be on the basis of PAYE in other words based upon an individuals income be that a pension or otherwise. Taxation of land and housing may or may not have a relationship to a houshold’s fiscal income. Like everything else in this country its victorian thinking in what we glibly call the 21st century.

  • http://profile.typepad.com/DonaldG Don G

    All tax is unfair. Council tax is HUGELY unfair because it has reached punitive levels. Income tax depends on people being employed, as cash-based trades can set their own, more fair levels of tax by choosing what to declare. Whether it’s a joiner or a chip shop there is that option.
    To keep tax less unfair it shouldn’t be used to fund non-statutory spending, usually where the beneficiaries are not the people providing the money for spending. Council staff should be penalised if it isn’t spent well – why do some councils not contract out services and others do? Why does Wandsworth have the lowest council tax, high service star-levels, despite having lots of £100k+ employees? Is this because of the councillors or good staff?
    The poll tax would have been the most transparent if the gov’t hadn’t made such as mess of implementing it – and rate-capped the councils when they first thought about it.

  • Chris P

    Christine Melsom – what is the alternative proposed by IsItFair? I am truly concerned that we will get a replacement one day which is even more odious to the working people of this country, and I have to say another income tax has to be the most unfair of all, given that consumption of council services is – if anything – inversely proportional to it.

  • http://www.senpec.org.uk/Council%20Tax%20replacement.pdf David Ashton

    Chris P. visithttp://www.senpec.org.uk/Council%20Tax%20replacement.pdf in order to see the proposal made by Terry Reilly and David Ashton. This was made to the MP for Mid Sussesx

  • Chris P

    Thanks for popping that up there. Personally, I come from the Taxed Enough Already school of thought and believe we should be abolishing taxes as we go along, not just replacing them, but given that socialist turkeys will never vote for Christmas I think your proposal for at least making odious local taxation competitive is a good place to start with the scale-back.
    The buggers won’t go for it, will they?

  • Nick Peat

    The most sensible way forward, which everybody seems to have overlooked is to scrap council tax and fund councils centrally from income tax. Even raising the basic rate by say 2% would be a lot fairer for everyone. This would streamline the system and make it more efficient by making lots of highly paid council jobsworths redundant. What you pay would then be based on ability to pay rather than property value.

  • CSP

    Simple, Nick, but still grossly unfair.
    That minority of 23 million or so of us (out of a 60 million plus population!) who work in the private sector are already getting squeezed enough on PAYE and NI already. Start clenching harder for more progressive income taxes and one really has to question the point in working anymore.
    If we are going to keep these taxes (let’s not) for now instead of pruning them away and shrinking the state (yes please!), we need to spread the pain. Too many people don’t feel it and are therefore happy to make it worse.

  • bambos

    councils have become very slippery and crafty at nicking your money ,no one really knows what goes on or has any real figuers on how much money is collected if you want to take them on you need to cheat to beat them at there own game i mean get dirty honesty doesnt pay you might have to resort to terroism tactics on a military basis be like them zero tolerence if one wants a better and fair life you have to contol your own enviroment at the moment we are in a depression as i predicted four years ago this would happen parliament has to be changed the system is failing because the people are not in control instead we have thiefs controling our country forgive the spelling errors never went to school .

  • Nick

    The only way we are going to get this evil tax scrapped is to riot like we did with the poll tax. Everyone would be up for it, we just need someone to organise it and the TPA would be in the perfect position. We need to hit every town hall in the country simultaneously.