Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

up by 5%, not as bad as the last 2 years increases. The borough and parish councils have not increased. Just the 5% to the county grabbers to pay for lesbian single mother clubs and red tarmac on every bend and a wacking great 11% to the police authority to pay for god knows what as we never see a copper when we need them. Seeing as I only have had 2.5% increase in salary last year would I be justified in telling them sorry I can only afford to pay you a 2.5% increase?.


I still think the old tory scheme was far fairer where everyone paid. But unfortunately those who suddenly had to pay for services rioted. Hmmm what if we who have always paid rioted and said it was unfair to tax just some.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

got mine through as well:)

for some strange reason is £5 a month less than last year?

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Hear! Hear! With a young family the poll tax saved us a fortune (about 40% less than Council Tax) Identical house next door was up in arms cos with 4 working adults thier bill was much higher. They used to put out about 10 times as much rubbish and had 4 cars, so thier consumption of services was proportionate to what they were paying.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Just got our household's through and it's only gone up by £3 a month...

... and as Virgin Media have discounted my TV bill I'm quids in for my year ahead...

... OK, so it may only be enough to increase my monthly intake of Green & Blacks Almond & Milk Chocolate by a few bars - but it all helps. ;)

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

I don't understand why council tax or poll tax is required. We pay income tax, based on the money we earn, what more do they want?

I hope Gordon Brown takes control of the government and calls a general election soon, so we can boot the greedy gits out :evil:

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Maybe we could all pay less tax if we refrained from invading countries in far distant parts of the world for a bit.Then we could scale down Trident and not spend billions on a new NHS computer that no one really needs and doesn't work anyway.We could stop flogging off what's left of our industry to foreigners who then asset strip it and close it down,which would leave more jobs and hence more people to pay tax.Then I wouldn't have to pay it all.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

i hate TAX!! its on bl@@dy everything! if you work out how much you pay you'd cry!

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

.......except aeroplane fuel.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

kids shoes...

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

There has always been local tax whatever party in different guises from dometics rates to the various ones Thatcher tried out unsuccessfully costing local people millions everytime her Govt changed their minds because they had got it wrong.

Reason for local tax is simply because income tax isn't enough to pay for everything. Mine has gone up £10 a month - not nice

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Agreed, tax should be at a single point. It would cost a fraction of what it does currently in the way in which it is collected and administered and it would also significantly reduce people's ability to dodge it, both of which would significantly lower the total amount of tax for most people, without depleting what was actually in the government coffers (they have to have some to p155 away on pointless fripperies, right?)

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

how much did they discount it? i'm paying and the cable now is pretty much freeview with a few advert channels, i was thinking of writing to ask them what the deal was. They've also cut back on the free on demand service recently.

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you couldn't tax it though. No country does. If they did then aircraft would stop flying here to save money - and the effect on the economy would be terrible!

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I do! Every month I look at my wage slip the same reaction follows.......usually along the lines of WWWWAAAAAAAAAAA!?! :smt022

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Of course it's enough to pay for everything. If the government can afford to **** away £50billion a year on administrators for the NHS that aren't even needed, they can certainly afford to abolish council tax.

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The socialist republic of Lewisham have raised mine by £6 a month, but then we have to pay for the Olympics over the other side of the river.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Mines up too..:smt012 to pay for someones pension shortfall no doubt...
and they have the cheek to say I get a 25% discount for being on my own!
Surely that's a 25% loading?

Bring back poll tax. Everyone pays the same.
There's not an inquest into how much my house is worth and who's living there everytime I go to the checkout at Tesco so why should this be different?

RR

:rant:

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

If they didn't go to war (mmm recall a lot of money for Falklands), if they didn't bid for Olympics, if they didn't subsidise Europe. Its because of all those things and no doubt numerous other issues that some people want and others don't that brings the Govt to reduce grants to local administration which means increase in Council tax.

Ok you can sack all the local Councils and all the people we think do sod all but I think you then need to consider that sensibly rather than through angry reaction. We all want this and that doing or doing better. get rid of certain organisations such as local and you want get anything done.

I don't think this is a Council Tax issue - it is really much bigger than that. It is the general public expenditure. In fact it isn't anywhere near as expensive as the private sector equivalent (and yes there are many areas where this might apply) What boosts the costs are the constant performance monitoring, constant provision of information cos people don't keep their own records. You know stuff we all take for granted but deny when the bill comes in but expect it for free :D So who will we then yell at because this and that isn't done?

I hate paying solicitors and barristers rediculous amounts of money when I have to take legal action. I hate paying inflated car/bike prices. Or hugely inflated house prices. Yes I have a choice - theoretically - in practice not really blah blah. Pay as you go on the roads - do we really think it will be cheaper. No local taxes, do we really think it will be cheaper?

To boost someones failing pension, yeah right! So why do we pay so much for all other produce and commodities? To pay other people salaries?

NHS - yeah a problem so vote out labour. Now who bought in the top heavy management? mmm, Tories?

confession - I work for a local Council - yes I know all about private sector working too so some facts...

Cushy number? - I start at 7.30am finish about 4.30 - 5.00pm or much later on call 365/24/7- you can always apply for a job and try it...
Well paid? - it's comparable in some cases worse in most rarely better. But in my line (which can and is done in the private sector) no bonuses, rewards, healthcare or even leisure centre discounts that my mates in the private sector get
So why work there? Personally I believe in it. It is impartial and honest, yes honest. Nothing to gain what so ever by not being so. Variety of work much much more than private sector. Non profit making.
Backhanders - oh come on get real.
Professional? Certainly equal to anyone else. Try getting any sense out of TOMTOM Satnav people, or Vodafone!

RANT over. Don't get me wrong I see a lot of things I don't agree with but in many walks of life. Not just the public sector. If you wear specs - do you know how much they actually cost and what the retailer mark up is? I now know why my mate drives the top of range Merc for well doing very little at all. best thing is he could make double if he bothered to look at his processes and so on - simply he doesn't need to cos he earns so much. What gets me is the media hype is set up to create reactionary rather than well thought out comment.

Should we have gone to war in Iraq. many say we shouldn't it was nothing to do with the people it was about oil. Perhaps it was? I don't know... but we all use the bl**dy stuff and I'm sure there would have been uproar if we didn't get it...:(

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

It's alot more simple than that.

Public money isn't subject to market forces, so when you give the government money it spends the lot, wisely or otherwise. Indeed, the only way to get a government to think carefully about what it spends its money on is to make sure it gets the bare minimum needed. That doesn't mean to say I think we should abolish the NHS for example, far from it, but those services that are to be provided must not be given such bloated budgets.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

In many cases it is. My area for example is in direct competition with the private sector. We retain 95% of the business simply because we are better - our costs are about the same. 94% say we offer value for money. We are also ISO 9001: 2000 registered. Accordingly we are used as example across the rest of the Council and things have changed enourmously over last ten years. Problem is that public perception is very very difficult change.

Still we could argue the points for ever and a day. I agree with the basis of the argument i.e. it still isn't good enough we can do better - can't we all. my argument is that we don't acknowledge any good from local governance we simply say it is all rubbish. I just don't believe that. Ah well...:D

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Yes you may be competative against private contractors etc. But it is the waste that council commission.

EG. Putting down unnecassary road markings, digging up 2nd lanes of major roads for flower beds. unnecassary signage, support groups for the idle and drug abusers. subsidised housing for the feckless, sports facilities that nobody can afford to hire etc.


Far better they were given x amount based on the population in their area and told. to prioritise and not come back till the next financial year etc. Instead they grab back their overspending by charging a few of the locals, in the knowledge that the majority are unaware of how much they charge

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Priority is already done based on local demand and limited budget - yes very much limited. people complain at the cost of building/repairing a road (private contractors bid through a very rigorous tender process) but complain equally if it isn't done. Raod building is very expensive - period. Have the roads and pay or don't have em.

Its easy to complain but we all have to see reality at some point.

That's me done know... have fun folks!:D

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Smokers are great. They pay out more in taxes than they use up, and often die before they can claim a full pension.

As for roads, we do pay. Alot. Increasingly amounts each year too. Yet less money is spent on transport now than 20 years ago IIRC.

The government can't be trusted with money so should be given as little as possible.

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

Tim- showing your age calling it "rates" aint ya


maybe its gone up because you have some new big gates .???

Re: Bloody rates bill has arrived
 

If you want lower taxes then vote tory. You will of course get bugger all local services for it. How quickly people forget what services were like back in the late 80's early 90's.

Lets see, no new schools for 20 years, with crap cold mobiles being used for over subscribed schools with little or no resources. NHS housed in out of date facilities falling apart. Trains that were falling apart never on time and always breaking down. Boom bust economics with a good percentage of my friends out of work but with no system to speak of to fall back on.

In my own particular town we now have a new hospital, all mobile classrooms are gone with new facilities built, a large GP surgery. A new centralised modern Police station. buses that run on time. Trains are still full but aleast they are clean and generally on time. Yes there is still lots of things that need doing but there always will be.

In simplistic terms you get what you pay for. Yes there is a lot of waste but there always will be in running a country.

I heard someone say the following and I thought to myself that it was very true.

The one thing governments need its lots of time and money to deliver what the people want. The problem is, people will give anything but time and money.

No Im not a blairite, but I do beleive that people have forgotten very quickly what it was really like about 15- 20 years ago.