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More cuts to Council services despite 4.99% tax rise

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Council leaders are warning of deep cuts to services despite nearly every local authority in England planning to raise council tax in 2017. Increases of up to 4.99% are expected across the country, but libraries, bin collections and other services will still face funding gaps.

 

We are continuing to pay for a service that is not being provided. Is time to say enough is enough with a mass revolt just like the poll tax days.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38982643

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Let me add some info to this thread:

 

Firstly, council tax itself is going up 1.9% which is the max it can be before going to a public vote. The other 3% is because councils are now having to cover the cost of social care for the vulnerable. I'm not going to make this about specific parties, but the money the councils are being given to cover social is £2.6billion less than present over 4 years. Unsurprisingly, they've (on the most part ) decided that a elderly persons care is more important than bins being emptied and libraries, and rightly-so, but it's awful that they are being forced to make this choice at all.

 

I think Surrey council had the right idea, people need to understand that all the nice things we have in life cost money and they need to be paid for. I'd happily support my council raising council tax by 15% if, and here's the rub, they can demonstrate EXACTLY where it's going and show it's not being wasted.

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I wouldn`t be happy with 15% and if the money had not been wasted for all these years we probably would not be in the mess we are now. However, I share your views on the idea of the council demonstrating exactly where the money is being spent both government money and our council tax contributions. I think we all know that this is never going to happen. I wonder why:suspect:

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I wouldn`t be happy with 15% and if the money had not been wasted for all these years we probably would not be in the mess we are now. However, I share your views on the idea of the council demonstrating exactly where the money is being spent both government money and our council tax contributions. I think we all know that this is never going to happen. I wonder why:suspect:

 

A simple Google search will find you the council website where all spending is shown.

 

Please, where are these wasted monies being spent?

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In this case, it's clear that council block grant funding is being cut, and there's no way to realistically square that circle without an increase in council tax (and/or their other income streams).

 

With government net borrowing set to soar, I really don't see what choice we have but to pay more tax. I'm not sure that council tax is the right tax to increase (on a national view point) but there we are.

 

I do have some feeling however, that at every economic downturn, services get worse and taxes go up. I begin to wonder when taxes will go down and services increase, but this seems like a logical fallacy.

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In this case, it's clear that council block grant funding is being cut, and there's no way to realistically square that circle without an increase in council tax (and/or their other income streams).

 

With government net borrowing set to soar, I really don't see what choice we have but to pay more tax. I'm not sure that council tax is the right tax to increase (on a national view point) but there we are.

 

I do have some feeling however, that at every economic downturn, services get worse and taxes go up. I begin to wonder when taxes will go down and services increase, but this seems like a logical fallacy.

 

When you say more tax I`m not sure whether you are referring to paying central gov or paying it in council tax. Regarding the gov, I struggle to understand why our gov is paying foreign aid to a country like India when India has a space program it is funding.

 

If the gov increased income tax I would be in favour of that instead of C tax rises. Even then, it still gets wasted as above.

Edited by Dr Afzal

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I don't know what people expect. Oh yes,Sorry, Something for nothing. Deregulate the Banks and convert the Building Societies so they can lend more money. Money that they borrow from some other bank in some other country. :loopy:

Don't bother saving for your deposit, either on a rented house or towards a mortgage. Don't bother paying the rent or the mortgage. Go out to the pub, club, restaurant, takeaway, every night and have a foreign holiday instead. Don't expect to have to save for a holiday, just get it on a credit card. Don't expect to have to pay towards your health care or unemployment allowance or your pension. Don't expect to save for Christmas, or to have to wait for a birthday to get that longed for item, demand it. Now! After all isn't it part of your human rights to have everything your heart desires IMMEDIATELY. :rant:

 

Well we have all seen exactly where that has got us have we not? :suspect:

 

Well you have now.:hihi:

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When you say more tax I`m not sure whether you are referring to paying central gov or paying it in council tax. Regarding the gov, I struggle to understand why our gov is paying foreign aid to a country like India when India has a space program it is funding.

 

If the gov increased income tax I would be in favour of that instead of C tax rises. Even then, it still gets wasted as above.

 

Actually, yes I would prefer it get paid by central government out of income tax etc rather than council tax I agree. Equally, I don't really agree with us giving aid to India, but I would rather that money is moved to somewhere more needy than it be cut.

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I wouldn`t be happy with 15% and if the money had not been wasted for all these years we probably would not be in the mess we are now. However, I share your views on the idea of the council demonstrating exactly where the money is being spent both government money and our council tax contributions. I think we all know that this is never going to happen. I wonder why:suspect:

 

The figures that are bandied about are never scrutinised either. Let's face it, most of us don't think in £millions let alone £billions. We have no idea whether we are getting value for money. We do know however that the council top dogs, directors etc are earning nice fat 6 figure salaries - and I know that's not value for money...

 

---------- Post added 20-02-2017 at 17:24 ----------

 

I don't know what people expect. Oh yes,Sorry, Something for nothing. Deregulate the Banks and convert the Building Societies so they can lend more money. Money that they borrow from some other bank in some other country. :loopy:

Don't bother saving for your deposit, either on a rented house or towards a mortgage. Don't bother paying the rent or the mortgage. Go out to the pub, club, restaurant, takeaway, every night and have a foreign holiday instead. Don't expect to have to save for a holiday, just get it on a credit card. Don't expect to have to pay towards your health care or unemployment allowance or your pension. Don't expect to save for Christmas, or to have to wait for a birthday to get that longed for item, demand it. Now! After all isn't it part of your human rights to have everything your heart desires IMMEDIATELY. :rant:

 

Well we have all seen exactly where that has got us have we not? :suspect:

 

Well you have now.:hihi:

 

Do you really think that people on low incomes can afford any of these things? They are living hand to mouth just trying to eke out the money till the end of the month and cover the bills. They'd love to have money left over to save; for Christmas or anything else for that matter....

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Council leaders are warning of deep cuts to services despite nearly every local authority in England planning to raise council tax in 2017. Increases of up to 4.99% are expected across the country, but libraries, bin collections and other services will still face funding gaps.

 

We are continuing to pay for a service that is not being provided. Is time to say enough is enough with a mass revolt just like the poll tax days.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38982643

 

That 4.9% increase is peanuts compared to the 30% cut in funding between 2010 and 2015, and more after that.

 

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2014/08/council-spending-%E2%80%98cut-nearly-one-third-2010%E2%80%99

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When you say more tax I`m not sure whether you are referring to paying central gov or paying it in council tax. Regarding the gov, I struggle to understand why our gov is paying foreign aid to a country like India when India has a space program it is funding.

 

If the gov increased income tax I would be in favour of that instead of C tax rises. Even then, it still gets wasted as above.

 

I mean in general, to cut the deficit, we must either have more cuts or pay more taxes. There aren't any longer 'efficiency savings' to be made in front line services.

 

I think council tax (or a similar tax) as a principle is a good thing to have, to tax wealth accumulated in property. However the levels at which it is charged are fairly regressive. There's also a desperate need for revaluation. My terrace house in Sheffield was Band A, and really should be higher these days. In Sheffield at least, there could be quite a range of differentiation around currently band A houses.

 

I get the impression, although I haven't looked at the figures, that social care costs are the main problem. I think there have been calls from several areas that we should move to a national social care service to fund this, which seems the best option. Although, as David Baddiel said today, that a joined up structure would enable money to flow to where it's needed, and probably the potential costs terrify government.

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The figures that are bandied about are never scrutinised either. Let's face it, most of us don't think in £millions let alone £billions. We have no idea whether we are getting value for money. We do know however that the council top dogs, directors etc are earning nice fat 6 figure salaries - and I know that's not value for money...

 

---------- Post added 20-02-2017 at 17:24 ----------

 

 

Do you really think that people on low incomes can afford any of these things? They are living hand to mouth just trying to eke out the money till the end of the month and cover the bills. They'd love to have money left over to save; for Christmas or anything else for that matter....

 

No I don't think they can afford them and that is why many took out loans and used credit cards that they couldn't afford to pay on at the end of the month they got fed up with seemingly everyone else having while they did not.

 

But I did not mention people on low incomes you brought that in. Read the post carefully without jumping to conclusions about what I am thinking and just absorb the words.

 

Most poor people live within their means. They do without like I and my family and many others like us did and they make choices about what to save for when there is a bit of spare cash, about what to buy to eat, about whether to smoke or drink or go out to the pub or have a takeaway. Or a really big one here whether it would be better to save money for new carpets or furniture or stick with second hand and inherited bits from kind people and give the kids a break from bricks and mortar and get them and a tent into the countryside or to the coast in the school holidays.

 

Read again, the first part of the post, to see how it all began to slide down the slippery slope.

 

Once the jobs disappeared over the china sea and no one had anything to spend the next step was to offer seemingly endless credit.

 

Even the Labour government went for the blurb of buy now pay tomorrow America was willing to loan again once we had cleared the war debt, of course they were, how could we refuse to support their war mongering when we are in hock to them.

Now we have all been sold to China, because America Made the same mistake of offering money to people they should have known could not pay it back and they are now up the Yangtze without a paddle to service their debt, which is why they are making a show of strength in the south china sea.

The Chinese of course being an astute business nation will take every advantage of our collective penury, hence their interest in investing in Britain. You can be assured that the businesses will be registered in Beijing or some other Chinese city so very little tax will be paid here and the highly paid staff of course will be Chinese and money owed to them will go into a chinese bank account with living expences transferred to a British bank as necessary, while lower "living wage staff" will be British or EU residents. And why not. The English did similar things in the rest of the world we colonised and tried to subjugate.

Edited by Margarita Ma

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