Hilary Benn MP
Labour has warned of ‘poll tax’ style suffering if the Coalition presses ahead with plans to cut council tax rebates for the poor.
Under current rules, about six million people either have all their council tax paid or are given some money towards it.
The rebate system is largely funded from central government, but the Coalition plans to cut funding by 10 per cent – saving the Treasury £500million a year.
Hilary Benn, the party’s local government spokesman, said this meant millions will face council tax hikes from next April.
Ministers are also telling local councils to decide which groups should benefit from the rebates, and which should not - meaning there will be a postcode lottery in the application of council tax benefit. Only rebates for the elderly will be protected.
On Friday, Labour-run Manchester Council launched a consultation over plans to reduce the rebates, so that all residents except pensioners face having to pay at least 15 per cent of their council tax burden
Tory-run Barnet Council, in London, has said working-age people could be charged up to 25 per cent.
And Eric Pickles’ local Essex County Council warned last week that ‘the changes to the council tax benefit system could have major implications for some of the most vulnerable members in our community’.
Mr Pickles is the Communities and Local Government Secretary who has been driving through cuts to council budgets.
For Labour, Mr Benn said reductions in the benefit would repeat the mistakes of the poll tax, when the lowest-income households were chased for cash they did not have.
‘Eric Pickles has lectured councillors that they have a moral duty not to increase council tax bills but in fact he has been planning a £450 million council tax bombshell of his own by increasing the bills paid by people on low incomes,’ he said.
‘Local authorities face a terrible dilemma. Do they increase council taxes on the working poor – over 760,000 people nationally work but have lower council tax because their income is low – or the disabled or families with young children?
‘Just as happened with the poll tax, councils will be forced to chase people on low incomes for money they simply don’t have.’
He added: ‘The Budget killed off David Cameron’s claim that we are all in this together, but to see tax cuts for millionaires and tax increases for those on low incomes planned to come in on the very same day next April tells us everything we need to know about whose side the Coalition is on.’
Related articles
About time labour stood up and defended its grassroots supporters instead of lying down and letting coalition bring in any cuts they wanted
About time labour stood up and defended its grassroots supporters instead of lying down and letting coalition bring in any cuts they wanted
The next instalment of Comrade Cameron’s “How To Screw The Poor In Ten Easy Lessons”. I bet that Greedy Grayling and Iain Dummkopf Schmidt will still be getting council tax rebates on their numerous properties.
what can you expect from a bunch of rich posh boys…they feather their own nests and we can go to hell…enough said…regards…sandra.
Grayling on £100,000 expenses for his London gaff.
So nice to live in a caring society that gets it’s priorities right.
its a bit late in the day for labour to be rattling their cages about it it will be in before you know it ,and if labour got in would they change it they dont want to change atos so i bet they will leave this one alone aswell jeff3
I hope they commit to getting rid of it. And while it is very late in the day, better late than never, I suppose.
I would love to see Camaroon toppled in the same way as Mubarak.
Wow….. They really do hate the working classes dont they