Council Tax Bombshell
Labour's ticking council tax bombshell
Tony Blair is planning to use a nationwide council tax revaluation to ramp up the levies householders are forced to pay to their local authorities, Caroline Spelman has warned.If Labour were to win a third term, council tax bills would continue to soar, the Shadow Local and Devolved Government Affairs Secretary told the Commons. But in a further move to raise council tax payments by stealth, the Blair administration would exploit a delayed revaluation process to further increase tax bills for millions of home owners, she protested during a Conservative-led debate at Westminster."
Council tax revaluation will be used to increase local tax bills by stealth. Even without any change in the headline 'B and D' rate of council tax, homes will face larger bills through their letter box. Only Conservatives have provided the opposition to this rigged revaluation - with the Liberal Democrats voting in Parliament to support Labour's new taxes," Mrs Spelman said.Suggesting that the Prime Minister deliberately decided to delay the council tax revaluation in England until after the forthcoming general election, Mrs Spelman went on: "
The reason for this is that Labour's third term tax rises include a ticking council tax bombshell, primed to explode after the general election. I fear that families and pensioners - whose only crime is to live in an area with house price inflation - will face soaring bills, without any improvements in their local services."The shadow minister went onto the offensive after Conservative research revealed the likely effect of the council tax revaluation in England, based on the impact of the revaluation which has already taken place in Wales.
In the Principality, revaluation has occurred two years ahead of process in England, with the result that almost half a million properties - out of 1.3 million - are being moved up a council tax band, with only 100,000 moving down. In some wards, such as in Cardiff, Wrexham and Flintshire, over 9 in 10 homes are being moved up a band.
Tony Blair is planning to use a nationwide council tax revaluation to ramp up the levies householders are forced to pay to their local authorities, Caroline Spelman has warned.If Labour were to win a third term, council tax bills would continue to soar, the Shadow Local and Devolved Government Affairs Secretary told the Commons. But in a further move to raise council tax payments by stealth, the Blair administration would exploit a delayed revaluation process to further increase tax bills for millions of home owners, she protested during a Conservative-led debate at Westminster."
Council tax revaluation will be used to increase local tax bills by stealth. Even without any change in the headline 'B and D' rate of council tax, homes will face larger bills through their letter box. Only Conservatives have provided the opposition to this rigged revaluation - with the Liberal Democrats voting in Parliament to support Labour's new taxes," Mrs Spelman said.Suggesting that the Prime Minister deliberately decided to delay the council tax revaluation in England until after the forthcoming general election, Mrs Spelman went on: "
The reason for this is that Labour's third term tax rises include a ticking council tax bombshell, primed to explode after the general election. I fear that families and pensioners - whose only crime is to live in an area with house price inflation - will face soaring bills, without any improvements in their local services."The shadow minister went onto the offensive after Conservative research revealed the likely effect of the council tax revaluation in England, based on the impact of the revaluation which has already taken place in Wales.
In the Principality, revaluation has occurred two years ahead of process in England, with the result that almost half a million properties - out of 1.3 million - are being moved up a council tax band, with only 100,000 moving down. In some wards, such as in Cardiff, Wrexham and Flintshire, over 9 in 10 homes are being moved up a band.
posted by Carolyn @ 8:27 PM
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