Councils in the North West wrong to hike Council Tax
Feb 2012 28

Councils in the North West wrong to hike Council Tax4

Continuing our nationwide campaign against planned Council Tax rises, we are highlighting research and official statistics to put the proposed increases in context and suggest some areas where savings could be made instead. Today we have focused on a number of councils in the North West who are hiking council tax.

Many households are struggling with the rising cost of living yet are finding out that their local council has put forward plans to increase Council Tax, ignoring the Government’s offer of help to pay for a freeze.

Council Tax is second only to VAT as the most burdensome tax for the poorest households. Most local authorities have chosen to freeze rates while some, like the Chorley Borough Council or Wirral Council, have chosen to help local families by cutting rates. Those politicians proposing rises have instead decided to increase the burden on already hard-pressed families.

Preston City Council
Proposed rise: 3.5 per cent
Want to hike the rates despite residents seeing their Council Tax bills increase by 40 per cent since 2001

South Ribble Borough Council
Proposed rise: 2.5 per cent
Where residents have seen their Council Tax bills increase by 87  per cent since 2001

St Helens Borough Council
Proposed rise: 2.0 per cent
Where 9 executives receive more than a hundred thousand pounds in remuneration and the estimated cost of trade union officials  is £131,295

Barrow Borough Council
Proposed rise: 3.49 per cent
Where staff were paid 65p per mile for using their cars in 2010/11, far higher than the HMRC recommended rate of 40p per mile

Allerdale Borough Council
Proposed rise: 2.9 per cent
Where staff were paid 65p per mile for using their cars in 2010/11, far higher than the HMRC recommended rate of 40p per mile

The most up-to-date list of town halls hiking Council Tax can be found here


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  • Steve Collins

    What I find remarkable about all this is that the ‘Taxpayers’ Alliance’ devotes pages and pages of its website and thousands of words criticising councils making below inflation rises in council tax – in total amounting to a few tens of millions of pounds, but stays strangely silent on the fact that Barclays Bank, an institution propped up by taxpayers’ money, has been caught red-handed trying to avoid paying £500 million in tax.  Including trying to claim tax rebates on tax it had never paid in the first place!

    Talk about the elephant in the room!

    Is this because the ‘Taxpayers’ Alliance’ is only really interested in taxpayers if they’re incredibly wealthy and powerful?

    It’s such lazy campaigning to devote so much time and space to councils. A cursory glance at the last few pages of this website demonstrates that 80% of the ‘Taxpayers’ Alliance’ output is aimed at councils.

    So much easier to play to the pitchfork and flaming torch brigade than it is to actually examine how taxpayers are being ripped off in other arenas, isn’t it? 

    • http://www.taxpayersalliance.com The TaxPayers’ Alliance

       We did comment on the RBS story Steve, here’s what we said:

      “HMRC is right to close these loopholes. Taxpayers want to
      see a simpler system so that there will be fewer opportunities for big
      companies like Barclays to avoid paying their fair share. However,
      retrospectively clawing back taxes sets a dangerous precedent and this sort of
      power should only be used by the taxman in exceptional circumstances.”

      And we’re focusing on local councils at the moment because this is when they set their budgets for the forthcoming financial year.

      • Kobi

        This sort of power i.e. retrospectively changing the law should NEVER be used in any circumstances.  Keep going on your campaign to simplify the tax law though.

    • Kobi

      So a taxpayer who orders its affairs in order to minimise the amount of tax it pays (just like Ken Livingstone) in accordance with what the law is at the time (it is not that taxpayer’s fault if the law is so complicated that there are only a handful of people who fully understand it) is to be condemned? Whereas the government which retrospectively changes the law to make something unlawful which was lawful when it was carried out, something that in past generations was treated as a constitutional outrage and a fundamental breach of civil liberties, is to be praised?  Typicality mindset of a dumb socialist who believes that all the money belongs to the state and it is up to the state to dole it out to you in smaller and smaller amounts.

      The reason that the Taxpayer’s Alliance focuses on things like councils is that the money comes largely from the taxpayer i.e. it is from tax that has been paid, whereas you want them to focus on money that you wish the state could grab, but which is not tax in any shape or form.