Axe the Council Tax

2.50.11pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Oct 2003

Councillor Serge Lourie, Group Leader on Richmond upon Thames Borough Council

After the record 15.6% hike in Council Tax, the highest increase in local tax since the Tories were last in power in 1983, local residents have been shocked by claims that the Council Tax could rise to over £3000.

In response to this, Liberal Democrats put forward a resolution to Council (30.09.03) urging that the Council Tax be replaced by a fair tax related to ability to pay. This was surprisingly rejected by the conservatives, a number of whom thought that we should go back to the discredited poll tax.

Speaking after the meeting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Serge Lourie, said "Council Tax is unfair and should be replaced by a system that reflects a person's ability to pay. Many people in this borough are asset rich and income poor. It is wrong to assume that people living in large houses that are worth many times what they paid for them are able to afford the extortionate level of Council Tax of £2,536.46 in band H."

"The tax is unfair because poorer people and many pensioners pay a larger proportion of their income on Council Tax. The proposed Government revaluation which will increase the number of tax bands will make this sorry situation even worse."

"We want to see Council Tax replaced by a tax related to ability to pay, a local income tax, that works well in the United States, many European countries and Australia. Nationally this will average around 3%, and in Richmond upon Thames it should be lower because incomes tend to be well above the national average."