Labour get's scared
Discussion
Some good news the Government is expected to postpone revaluations.
Telegraph article below
Council tax revaluation called off
By Brendan Carlin and George Jones
(Filed: 17/09/2005)
The threat of big council tax rises for millions of householders was lifted last night when, in an embarrassing U-turn, the Government decided to postpone a review of the property values of all homes in England.
The highly contentious revaluation of 22 million homes by 2007 had been described as a "ticking time-bomb" because of fears that it would lead to increased tax bills as a result of the rise in property values.
Government sources said an announcement of the climbdown was expected as early as next week.
The official reason is that the revaluation exercise is being postponed until after the Government has considered the outcome of a review by Sir Michael Lyons into local government finance, which is expected this year.
Ministers have become increasingly concerned about prospects of a severe backlash in London, the South and other areas where property values have risen sharply since the last revaluation 14 years ago.
A revaluation has already been carried out in Wales, resulting in one in three homes going up by one band or more. In Scotland the issue has been postponed until after the 2007 election for the devolved Edinburgh parliament.
Only five months ago Tony Blair said that a Tory pledge during the election to scrap the revaluation was "an act of desperate opportunism".
The decision is likely to defer any major restructuring of council tax until after the next election. However, under the existing system, bills are still likely to rise by well above inflation, possibly by at least six per cent next year.
Council tax has emerged as one of the most politically charged issues for the Government because of recent sharp increases in the charges levied by councils, with average bills more than doubling since 1997.
The Valuation Office Agency has already taken on extra staff for the exercise, which was to have been completed in time for new bills to be levied on the basis of the updated values in April 2007.
When the last revaluation was carried out in 1991, the average house cost £73,000. The figure is now just under £180,000.
The Labour manifesto promised that the Government would make the tax "fairer", political code for saying that it would be linked more to ability to pay, with more bands to take account of increased property values.
Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrats' local government spokesman, said that council tax was in a "desperate mess". She accused the Government of letting down millions of pensioners and low-paid workers who were struggling to pay the tax.
"Revaluation or no revaluation, council tax is Britain's most unfair tax and it must be abolished," she said.
Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, the chairman of the Local Government Association, said that wholesale reform was needed of how local government was funded. Council tax was flawed and revaluation would only add to the problem, he said.
"It cannot be sensible to base a property tax on house prices in 1991 but we do not believe that people should be penalised because their homes have increased in value during the past decade."
Eric Pickles, the Tory local government spokesman, said the council tax plans were now "in complete disarray".
Ministers have repeatedly insisted that the English experience would be "revenue neutral" and bear no relation to the Welsh experience. But the Halifax, the biggest mortgage lender, said that the biggest losers under a revaluation would be in Northumberland, Hammersmith and Fulham, mid-Suffolk, north Cornwall and Westminster.
It said that house prices had risen by more than average in 40 of the 320 local authority areas and below average in 53. The Halifax said that many homes even in the Labour-dominated North-East would be hit as values had risen by more than the average.
Speculation has been rife in council circles that the Government was getting cold feet about introducing a revalued council tax system two years before the expected next election. Officials representing John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, who has overall responsibility for local government, said: "Any announcement we make will be made at the appropriate time."
In a further embarrassment, ministers are required by law to introduce the revaluation by 2007 and will have to amend the Local Government Act of 2003 to postpone the process.
Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, who is planning to lead Labour into the next election, is understood to have played a key role in the postponement
Telegraph article below
Council tax revaluation called off
By Brendan Carlin and George Jones
(Filed: 17/09/2005)
The threat of big council tax rises for millions of householders was lifted last night when, in an embarrassing U-turn, the Government decided to postpone a review of the property values of all homes in England.
The highly contentious revaluation of 22 million homes by 2007 had been described as a "ticking time-bomb" because of fears that it would lead to increased tax bills as a result of the rise in property values.
Government sources said an announcement of the climbdown was expected as early as next week.
The official reason is that the revaluation exercise is being postponed until after the Government has considered the outcome of a review by Sir Michael Lyons into local government finance, which is expected this year.
Ministers have become increasingly concerned about prospects of a severe backlash in London, the South and other areas where property values have risen sharply since the last revaluation 14 years ago.
A revaluation has already been carried out in Wales, resulting in one in three homes going up by one band or more. In Scotland the issue has been postponed until after the 2007 election for the devolved Edinburgh parliament.
Only five months ago Tony Blair said that a Tory pledge during the election to scrap the revaluation was "an act of desperate opportunism".
The decision is likely to defer any major restructuring of council tax until after the next election. However, under the existing system, bills are still likely to rise by well above inflation, possibly by at least six per cent next year.
Council tax has emerged as one of the most politically charged issues for the Government because of recent sharp increases in the charges levied by councils, with average bills more than doubling since 1997.
The Valuation Office Agency has already taken on extra staff for the exercise, which was to have been completed in time for new bills to be levied on the basis of the updated values in April 2007.
When the last revaluation was carried out in 1991, the average house cost £73,000. The figure is now just under £180,000.
The Labour manifesto promised that the Government would make the tax "fairer", political code for saying that it would be linked more to ability to pay, with more bands to take account of increased property values.
Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrats' local government spokesman, said that council tax was in a "desperate mess". She accused the Government of letting down millions of pensioners and low-paid workers who were struggling to pay the tax.
"Revaluation or no revaluation, council tax is Britain's most unfair tax and it must be abolished," she said.
Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, the chairman of the Local Government Association, said that wholesale reform was needed of how local government was funded. Council tax was flawed and revaluation would only add to the problem, he said.
"It cannot be sensible to base a property tax on house prices in 1991 but we do not believe that people should be penalised because their homes have increased in value during the past decade."
Eric Pickles, the Tory local government spokesman, said the council tax plans were now "in complete disarray".
Ministers have repeatedly insisted that the English experience would be "revenue neutral" and bear no relation to the Welsh experience. But the Halifax, the biggest mortgage lender, said that the biggest losers under a revaluation would be in Northumberland, Hammersmith and Fulham, mid-Suffolk, north Cornwall and Westminster.
It said that house prices had risen by more than average in 40 of the 320 local authority areas and below average in 53. The Halifax said that many homes even in the Labour-dominated North-East would be hit as values had risen by more than the average.
Speculation has been rife in council circles that the Government was getting cold feet about introducing a revalued council tax system two years before the expected next election. Officials representing John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, who has overall responsibility for local government, said: "Any announcement we make will be made at the appropriate time."
In a further embarrassment, ministers are required by law to introduce the revaluation by 2007 and will have to amend the Local Government Act of 2003 to postpone the process.
Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, who is planning to lead Labour into the next election, is understood to have played a key role in the postponement
i was hoping for this as we will be wanting to move to a place in the middle stamp duty bracket and i had heard this was the area of the mkt that'd get battered most....
we're already paying almost 100 a month in a little house - and you have to put the bins in exactly the right plave for them to get emptied...!
we're already paying almost 100 a month in a little house - and you have to put the bins in exactly the right plave for them to get emptied...!
baskey said:
we're already paying almost 100 a month in a little house - and you have to put the bins in exactly the right plave for them to get emptied...!
They've already re-valued business property.
I own a small (1500 sq ft on 2 floors) shop in a small market town. £464 a month and they dont empty your bins at all.
Bastards.
unrepentant said:
They've already re-valued business property.
I own a small (1500 sq ft on 2 floors) shop in a small market town. £464 a month and they dont empty your bins at all.
Bastards.
Have you looked into appealing against the 2005 revaluation? You might be able to get it down a bit if you do.
mutt k said:
They've already re-valued business property.
I own a small (1500 sq ft on 2 floors) shop in a small market town. £464 a month and they dont empty your bins at all.
Bastards.
Have you looked into appealing against the 2005 revaluation? You might be able to get it down a bit if you do.
Yep. Appeals in. Takes about 18 months.
unrepentant said:
we're already paying almost 100 a month in a little house - and you have to put the bins in exactly the right plave for them to get emptied...!
They've already re-valued business property.
I own a small (1500 sq ft on 2 floors) shop in a small market town. £464 a month and they dont empty your bins at all.
Bastards.
Have you looked at the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme:
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk/rates/other_reliefs/index.html
It's available througout England and then Scotland from 2007.
Unfortunately in Wales we've had our Council tax revaluation and got screwed (£120/month for a flat!) AND we don't get the SBRRS, so I get screwed AGAIN!
It's hard enough to make a living in this 3rd world country already.
Welsh Assembly? "Teapot" and "Chocolate" spring to mind.... oh yes...
and the words "B*******s", "utter" and "useless"
blueyes said:
baskey said:
we're already paying almost 100 a month in a little house - and you have to put the bins in exactly the right plave for them to get emptied...!
They've already re-valued business property.
I own a small (1500 sq ft on 2 floors) shop in a small market town. £464 a month and they dont empty your bins at all.
Bastards.
Have you looked at the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme:
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk/rates/other_reliefs/index.html
It's available througout England and then Scotland from 2007.
Unfortunately in Wales we've had our Council tax revaluation and got screwed (£120/month for a flat!) AND we don't get the SBRRS, so I get screwed AGAIN!
It's hard enough to make a living in this 3rd world country already.
Welsh Assembly? "Teapot" and "Chocolate" spring to mind.... oh yes...
and the words "B*******s", "utter" and "useless"
My property is too big (or too highly rtated) to qualify.
There is little wrong with the principle of revaluation.
The problem is that Labour has placed more of the burden of it's spending plans on Local councils and moreover has changed the system of local government financing to penalise the richer areas.
The result is that the total council tax take has nearly doubled during their period in power, rising from £8.8 bn in 96/97, to £16.4 bn in 2003/04, far outstripping the rate of inflation.
A revaluation would further hammer the areas that have been hit hard by this.
The problem is that Labour has placed more of the burden of it's spending plans on Local councils and moreover has changed the system of local government financing to penalise the richer areas.
The result is that the total council tax take has nearly doubled during their period in power, rising from £8.8 bn in 96/97, to £16.4 bn in 2003/04, far outstripping the rate of inflation.
A revaluation would further hammer the areas that have been hit hard by this.
unrepentant said:
Well, I can't speak for every one, but I find a bill of £220/month for a 3 bedroom detached house sticks in my craw (in the scottish vernacular)
MoJo.
Bloody hell! Where do u live? I pay the same for a 5 bed farmhouse with outbuildings and 2 acres of garden.
In the great scottish
socialist experiment (well one of the areas that pays for it...........
) But at least the bins get emptied {ALL 4 OF THEM FFS}
I am scanning the local press watching for the inevitable announcement of "bin inspector" and plan to wreak havoc on the great unwashed in the Tay valley conurbations as revenge.
MoJo.
JagLover said:
There is little wrong with the principle of revaluation.
The problem is that Labour has placed more of the burden of it's spending plans on Local councils and moreover has changed the system of local government financing to penalise the richer areas.
The result is that the total council tax take has nearly doubled during their period in power, rising from £8.8 bn in 96/97, to £16.4 bn in 2003/04, far outstripping the rate of inflation.
A revaluation would further hammer the areas that have been hit hard by this.
Surely the bands should be re-aligned as well,other wise the tax take would be greatly increased .....oh I get it.....
JagLover said:It would seem fairer to me if the relevant band of council tax just moved up with the houses it was originally attached to. Sure our homes are worth more and have increased in value above general inflation but so what? If the householder can't realise any of their gain - and without selling the house they can't - while their income hasn't gone up in proportion, they won't be in a position to pay a big rise without suffferng a serious drop in standard of living. Also as the suggested hike would hit the south and leave many Labour voters ooop north unaffected, it's clealy an attempt to soak middle class tories to fund more loony toon pc schemes while keeping the faithful at heel. Hopefully the end of BLiar will also be the end of Nu Labia and we can avoid taxinjg more by spending less while raising standards at the same time. Estonian stylee flat rate taxation anyone?
There is little wrong with the principle of revaluation.
council tax on our house is 14% of my wage, effectively pushing us into the 40% tax bracket!
we get our bins done fortnightly, under the conservatives the council tax was around £460 under the bloodsucking labour scum it is now £1240
my income is 10.5k its hardly worth working when you see the dole merchants sitting in the pub sipping on your hard earned taxes! the sooner these socialist filth are gone the better!
we get our bins done fortnightly, under the conservatives the council tax was around £460 under the bloodsucking labour scum it is now £1240
my income is 10.5k its hardly worth working when you see the dole merchants sitting in the pub sipping on your hard earned taxes! the sooner these socialist filth are gone the better!
off to another thread ! 
I have no understanding of revaluation of bands because it's the house that's revaluated not the band.
Explain to me why labour logic says a house has been effected by inflation but not the band??
If a house was fixed in a band then both the house and the band should increase with inflation. Therefore 99% of houses would not change band.
Or am I applying simple logic and labour just want to rip us off for more taxes?
>> Edited by John Lloyd on Saturday 17th September 22:48
Explain to me why labour logic says a house has been effected by inflation but not the band??
If a house was fixed in a band then both the house and the band should increase with inflation. Therefore 99% of houses would not change band.
Or am I applying simple logic and labour just want to rip us off for more taxes?
>> Edited by John Lloyd on Saturday 17th September 22:48
John Lloyd said:
I have no understanding of revaluation of bands because it's the house that's revaluated not the band.
Explain to me why labour logic says a house has been effected by inflation but not the band??
If a house was fixed in a band then both the house and the band should increase with inflation. Therefore 99% of houses would not change band.
Or am I applying simple logic and labour just want to rip us off for more taxes?
>> Edited by John Lloyd on Saturday 17th September 22:48
correct its just more spiteful wealth redistribution, the fact that it hits working people on low incomes hardest seems to be lost in the morass of socialist idealism!
labour may claim to represent the working family but from my point of view the only people who gain from a labour govt. are the idle and feckless!
I live in a Town with 70,000 people. About 200 guys empty the bins 90 work on the parks, a few hundred teach the kids and there are a few hundred cops. The rest are surplus to requirements and need sacking. We need to make mediocrity a thing of the past. Local services are mostly rubbish and not needed.
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