Clobbered by council tax?

Tom Brake MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on local government, has launched a competition to find the person who pays the highest proportion of their income in council tax.

The competition highlights the Liberal Democrats campaign ‘Axe the Tax’
to replace council tax with a fairer alternative based on people’s
ability to pay.

Announcing the competition earlier today, Tom said:

“This is a light-hearted way to draw attention to a really serious
problem.

“Council tax is an extremely unfair tax, hitting people on fixed
incomes, such as senior citizens, particularly hard.

“With council tax, people who can afford it least are hit the hardest.”

Further details about the competition and the ‘Axe the Tax’ campaign can
be found at: www.axethetax.org

Neath wins in Wales

We bet that the "winner" in Wales will be found in Neath Port Talbot, which has the highest basic council tax in Wales, and most probably in Skewen. Coedffranc community council has the highest precept in Neath.

The council's recent glossy leaflet claims to have delivered the second lowest council tax rise in Wales. (The lowest is in Liberal Democrat controlled Wrexham, by the way.)

That is true only in percentage terms. If you work it out in real terms, in terms of the extra cash you have to stump up, Neath Port Talbot has the fourth lowest rise - but it still has the highest council tax in Wales.

Competition entries

If you want to enter the competition directly, send your details to:

Tom Brake MP,
House of Commons,
London
SW1A 0AA

Email: braket@parliament.uk