COUNCIL TAX KEEPS ON CREEPING UP

Published by: This is Devon

CAMPAIGNERS have made fresh calls for a radical overhaul of the Council Tax system as the average annual household bill in Devon creeps towards £1,500.

Residents in Cornwall will pay just over £1,200 this financial year, after the rate was unified under the new county-wide local authority. But for those living in the former district areas where Council Tax was previously lowest, it represents a rise of just below 5 per cent.

The economic downturn has seen some Devon district councils freeze their precept to try to ease the burden on residents. But, as the inflation figure used to determine wages turned negative for the first time last month, and the credit crunch continues to bite, many will struggle to make the payments.

Elderly people and those on fixed incomes can be particularly hard-hit by the tax, which is calculated according to the value of property. Many believe a system based on income would be fairer.

Albert Venison, chairman of the Devon Pensioners Action Forum, which has long campaigned on Council Tax, said those who had been prudent savers throughout their lives were now finding they could not afford simple luxuries because their of the tax burden, coupled with the plummeting value of their assets.

He said: "The average rise across the board is about 3 per cent this year, but you have to remember that that's on top of all the other increases that we have seen in the past. It means people who have been careful savers are suffering."

The warning came as the Government hailed the lowest rise in Council Tax for several years. Local government minister John Healey said: "Most councils across the country are tightening their belts, which is exactly what the public wants to see."

Teignbridge District Council has prided itself in keeping Council Tax low, and managed to freeze its precept in 2005. But this year's rise of 3.5 per cent is one of the highest of any Devon district. Leader Alan Connett said the recession would leave the authority around £300,000 worse off this year, but said councillors had frozen parking and leisure charges to boost business and tourism.

He said his own view was that the current system was a "disaster". "In areas where the average salary is quite low, you can't have a uniform system of property tax," he said. "It should be based on a much fairer system of people's ability to pay. "It's a rubbish system and it should be scrapped."

Earlier this month, the WMN revealed that 40 per cent of local government funding now comes from Council Tax, compared to 30 per cent when Labour came to power. Any drop in Whitehall's funding to local authorities means councils are forced to make up the difference by raising their precept of the levy.

Devon County Council has imposed an increase of 2.89 per cent, an increase of just under £30 to the new rate of £1094.67. In the unitary areas of Torbay and Plymouth, residents do not pay the county council. Instead, this year they will pay £1,227.40 to Torbay Council, an increase of just under 4 per cent. Plymouth residents will pay £1,209.71 – 3.5 per cent up on last year.

The police precept has risen by 4.94 per cent – just below the level at which it could be capped by the Government, forcing a costly recalculation process. It means the average home will pay £149.22, £7.02 more than last year. In Devon, residents will also pay £69.18 towards the fire service, up £2.60 on last year – a rise of 3.9 per cent. In Cornwall, the service is provided by the county council, and included in its tax income.

This year, an average band D property in Cornwall will pay £30.64 more than last year under the new unitary authority. But for areas such as Penwith, which previously enjoyed low Council Tax payments, it represents a rise of 4.9 per cent.

Penwith District Council leader Roger Harding said he had fought for the increase to be phased in, adding that people are "almost at breaking point".

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