TaxPayers' Alliance welcomes Surrey County Council's decision to back down from a 15% Council Tax hike
- Decision means it is unlikely there will be referendum on the astronomical tax increase
- But the proposed budget still seeks a 4.99% Council Tax hike - just below the threshold for triggering a vote
- Campaign group says that funding social care is a crucial issue and won't be fixed by one-off tax hikes
Responding to the news that Surrey County Council has dropped proposals to hike Council tax by 15% this year, John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, says:
"It is good news that Surrey County Council has backed down on proposing a shameful 15% hike in council tax. But it must not go unnoticed that a council that very rarely misses a chance to raises taxes is still seeking to increase rates by almost 5%, so local residents have every right to feel that despite the announcement, their local representatives are letting them down.
"Providing adequate funding for social care is an important issue that deserves much deeper thought and a long-term solution, not a short-term and lazy tax hike on hard-pressed residents."
The TPA has commented extensively on the potential referendum in Surrey and the pressure on social care funding, for example:
John O'Connell on ConservativeHome
http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2016/12/john-oconnell-social-care-needs-more-money-but-higher-council-tax-is-not-the-right-way-to-deliver-it.html
Alex Wild on CapX
https://capx.co/surreys-sorry-referendum-is-covering-up-its-own-failings/
Alex Wild on taxpayersalliance.com
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/how_should_we_fund_social_care
TPA spokesmen are available for live and pre-recorded broadcast interviews via 07795 084 113 (no texts)