LOCAL AUTHORITY ACCUSED OF BRIBING VOTERS WITH COUNCIL TAX REBATE

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE TELEGRAPH

A LOCAL AUTHORITY HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF "ELECTION BRIBERY" AFTER PROMISING COUNCIL TAX REBATES TO ALMOST 30,000 BENEFITS CLAIMANTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THE LEVY.

A local authority has been accused of "election bribery" after promising Council Tax rebates to almost 30,000 benefits claimants, even though they do not have to pay the levy. Wirral Borough Council has announced plans to hand back hundreds of thousands of pounds in overpaid Council Tax to residents after the Tories and Lib Dems seized control and cut its budget. However, it has emerged that even those who are fully exempt from Council Tax will receive the cash refunds, which are worth up to £66 per household.

Critics accused the council of trying to bribe voters ahead of the local elections next month. Councillor Phil Davies, leader of the opposition Labour group, said: "Perhaps the Tories haven't really thought this through, but to me it smacks of an election bribe. "If you get one hundred per cent Council Tax benefit, you don't pay any Council Tax at all, yet under the Tory scheme you will actually get a cash refund. "I don't think it's fair that if you don't pay any Council Tax you should get a cash handout."

Under the scheme, 29,000 households which do not currently pay any Council Tax will be eligible for £680,000 in cash rebates. The rebate for an average Band D property will be £44, while Band H households will receive £66. Band A households will get around £22. The money was pledged after a Conservative and Liberal Democrat cabinet replaced Labour running the council in March – just days before a budget was due to be fixed – and sliced it by 3 per cent. Councillor Jeff Green, the Tory leader of the council, rejected claims that the rebate was "unfair" saying it will help some of the poorest pensioners.

Cllr Green said: "We introduced it because the council had raised more than it needed and we were keen to cut Council Tax in that respect."The largest group on Council Tax benefits are the pensioners, but there is another group who come in and out of benefits. "We are mainly helping some of the poorest pensioners on the Wirral who will have worked and paid Council Tax for all of their lives.

"The council was in a shambles before we came in, especially in terms of the adult social services provided, so we are doing our bit to support people in need. "We are helping those that are on age-related benefit or move in and out of benefit. "This rebate will be applied to their Council Tax bills."

A Wirral Borough Council spokesman said: "Households who are liable for Council Tax who receive 100 per cent Council Tax benefit will receive a refund later in the year providing they do not have any monies outstanding."No refunds have yet been made and we will look to see how this is best undertaken. We will ensure that any outstanding debts are met before any payments are made."

Labour had proposed a zero Council Tax increase and the Lib Dems recommended a flat £30 rebate to all Council Tax payers, however, the Tories introduced a 3 per cent rebate.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX. 

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

GOVERNMENT RULES OUT ENGLISH COUNCIL TAX REVALUATION

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: BBC

COUNCIL TAX BANDS IN ENGLAND HAVE NOT BEEN REVALUED FOR 17 YEARS

There will be no revaluation of Council Tax bands in England during this Parliament, the government has pledged. It means there will be no rise in local taxes for householders based solely on the increased value of their homes. Every property in England is in one of eight Council Tax bands, depending on value, and these were last set in 1993. The government said Labour had been "actively planning" to carry out a revaluation but Labour said its election manifesto had promised not to.

'Financial worries'

A revaluation was long overdue, but would prove highly unpopular with householders who found themselves in a higher band and therefore paying more in Council Tax, said the BBC's Greg Wood. A revaluation in Wales in 2005 placed about a third of all homes there in a higher band. The government says that a rise from Band D - the benchmark for Council Tax - to Band E would cost an extra £320-a-year. The former Labour government had planned to revalue Council Tax bands in England in 2007, but announced in 2005 that it would postpone the decision until after the next general election.

It said the delay was to allow the issue to be considered as part of a wider inquiry into local authority funding, but some commentators said at the time that the decision was also a reaction to the anger sparked by the Welsh revaluation. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said the key thing was the relationship between the upper and lower bands of the tax, and they were roughly the same as when the tax was introduced.

"I've always argued against a revaluation because we know from what happened in Wales that it tends to hit poorer families. Given that the bands are roughly in the same position as when Council Tax was first introduced then it seems to me to be a matter of fairness that we don't impose an additional level of taxation, £1,600 during this Parliament, on ordinary families."

But a Labour spokesman said: "The Labour Party made an unequivocal commitment that there would be no Council Tax revaluation in this Parliament.  "This is a cynical and misleading manipulation of facts based on what was ultimately a routine updating of the Valuation Office Agency's records." The Taxpayers' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, said families would be relieved there was to be no revaluation. "Council Tax has doubled in the last 10 years while many services have been scaled back, executive pay has spiralled out of control and charges have increased; it's time Council Tax was cut," spokesman Emma Boon said.

"What's been happening is that where local councils have looked at trying to find other ways of charging people, it's just simply meant other taxes... charging people for throwing away more rubbish or fining people and things like that." Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster City Council, said councils would welcome the move as a "positive step" that would "end uncertainty" for many Council Tax payers and local authorities.

"It allows the government to concentrate on creating a fairer and more responsive financial system, reflecting the differing needs of each area.  "We, for instance, would refer to the special problems of poverty in Westminster alongside the responsibility we have to keep the city clean for millions of visitors every day," he said. What band a house falls into is determined by inspectors from the government's Valuation Office Agency (VOA). There has been criticism in the past from some quarters over what data about people's homes is collected and kept by the VOA.

Mr Pickles said the government was moving to address this issue, and that an independent data audit of the VOA would protect privacy and civil liberties as part of dismantling the "database state". The Scottish Parliament has no plans to revalue homes in the foreseeable future. In Northern Ireland, which has a different system of local taxes, property values were reassessed in 2005.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

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SHARP RISE IN COUNCIL TAX ARREARS CASES WITH MORE RENTERS STRUGGLING TO MEET PAYMENTS

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THIS IS MONEY

DEBT BURDEN: FOR THE FIRST TIME MORE RENTERS THAN HOMEOWNERS CONTACTED THE CHARITY

The number of people falling behind with their Council Tax payments rose sharply last year as the financial pressure on households increased.  Despite Council Tax freezes across England, nearly 17,000 people contacted debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) for help with their arrears, up from 13,353 in 2010, a 27 per cent increase.

The average amount owed also increased by £42, from £675 in 2010 to £717 last year. Hardest hit have been those in rented accommodation. There has been huge demand in the rental market as many people can't currently afford the step up onto the property ladder. This has led to significant rises in rent levels as landlords take advantage. In contrast, many home-owners have seen mortgage repayments remain at manageable levels due to the record-low base rate - although lenders have issued a swathe of recent hikes.

IN ARREARS? WHAT CAN HAPPEN:

• Failing to pay Council Tax can lead to legal action to recover the money. A court can then order the  money to be deducted directly from salary payments or benefits.
• In worst case scenarios bailiffs are called, and the debtor declared bankrupt.
• But most councils will arrange for people to take on lower monthly payments over a longer period of time in order to help them.
• Consequently, for the first time more renters than home-owners contacted the charity about arrears - a total of 8,841 sought advice, up from 6,084.

CCCS director of external affairs Delroy Corinaldi said: 'The financial squeeze is causing more and more households to fall behind with their Council Tax bills, and this is a problem we expect to get worse over the coming year. 'Council Tax is a priority debt and non-payment of it can have very serious consequences. Anyone who is struggling to keep up with their Council Tax bills should contact their council to discuss the problem, and check that they are receiving any discounts or rebates to which they may be entitled. 

'If you are struggling to cope you should also seek free advice from a debt charity like CCCS as early as possible.'

BEEN PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX?

If your house is in the wrong Council Tax band, you may be entitled to cut your bill and win a refund windfall.  Since Council Tax bands were created in 1993, one in 20 homes have been found to be in the wrong one. A home incorrectly placed in Band E rather than D, for example, has been paying 22.2 per cent too much since 1993. On average figures, the overpayment would be up to £281.50 for the last year and around £2,500 over the whole period.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

PEOPLE ON BENEFITS, LANDLORDS AND THOSE WITH SECOND HOMES TO BE HIT BY CHANGES TO COUNCIL TAX

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: WATFORD OBSERVER 

RESIDENTS IN WATFORD COULD BE HIT WITH SHARP RISES IN THEIR COUNCIL TAX BILLS 

The council looks to squeeze an extra £800,000 from the town's taxpayers. Council Tax benefit recipients in Watford who have large homes, adult children living with them or savings of more than £8,000 - as well as landlords with empty properties and people with second homes - could all be hit.

The move comes as the Government is set to abolish the current system of Council Tax benefits as soon as possible. As a result, local councils will have the chance to draw up their own Council Tax schemes, but have to factor in a cut in their grant of more than 11 per cent in Government funding.

In Watford, this means an extra £794,000 will need to be found from the taxpayer, or from the council's already squeezed finances. At a meeting of the Watford Borough Council budget committee, councillors complained the scheme could see them reaping the political fallout of the unpopular measures. Asif Khan, a Labour councillor for Leggatts, said: "I find it outrageous that central government is dumping this on local government. When we go door knocking all political parties will get blamed for it and it is not us, it is Mr Pickles.

Steve Rackett, the leader of the Green Party, added the localised tax scheme was central government getting local councils to "do its dirty work". In a report to the committee, financial officers at Watford laid out some of the options being considered to squeeze more cash out of the town’s taxpayers. One option is to reduce to £8,000 the amount of savings a resident can have before failing to qualify for Council Tax benefit. The figure is currently £16,000. This change would raise around an extra £30,000 a year for the borough. Council Tax support could also be cut to residents living in more expensive homes in Band D or Band E of the Council Tax bracket.

Officers claim this would encourage people receiving Council Tax benefits to move to cheaper accommodation and could save the council up to £198,000 a year. Parents with non-dependent adult children living at home could also be stung by the cuts, with plans to increase the deduction from Council Tax benefit they get for every working adult child living at home. Another plan is to reduce the amount of benefits for those who have other incomes, which could add £74,000 a year to council coffers. However financial officers warned this measure could make finding work for unemployed people on benefits a less attractive prospect.

Council officers said there could be certain exemptions built into the cuts which would soften the blow for pensioners, parents with children under five and disabled people. As well as reducing benefits, councils are also being allowed to cut tax discounts and exemption periods for unoccupied properties.

Among the properties that could lose some or all of their discounts are ones undergoing major repairs and those that are empty and unfurnished. People with second homes could also lose their 50 per cent Council Tax discount. There are also proposals being considered for an additional levy on homes which are left empty for two years. The recommendations are currently being looked at by councils across Hertfordshire who are planning to possibly co-ordinate their localised tax schemes.

The budget committee voted for Watford’s financial officers in the cross-county talks to say they are more in favour of the measures which target empty properties than those on benefits. The borough council will need to consult the public on its localised tax plan before implementing it. Councillors were told that if they did not make changes to recoup their losses from the Government’s Council Tax amendments, then the money lost would have to be found from the borough's budget.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE? 

CASES OF COUNCIL TAX ARREARS UP 30PC

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE TELEGRAPH 

THE COUNCIL TAX TRAP

Rising rents, higher unemployment and the financial squeeze have led to a sharp increase in the number of people falling into arrears on their Council Tax, despite most English councils freezing this housing charge for the past two years.

Debt charities report that they have seen a 27pc increase in the number of people contacting it for help with Council Tax arrears. In 2010 the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) had just over 13,000 cases, which rose to almost 17,000 cases the following year. Over the period the size of money owed to the council rose from £675 to £717.

CCCS said much of this rise had been fuelled by the worsening financial position of renters. For the first time the charity said it had more queries from those in rented accommodation that from those that own their own home. While many homeowners have been cushioned by low interest rates, which have helped keep mortgage repayments manageable, those who rent have faced steep increases in their outgoings. With fewer first-time buyers able to get on the housing ladder – thanks to tighter lending restrictions – demand for rented property has helped to push up the monthly rental costs significantly.

Delroy Corinaldi, a spokesman for CCCS said he expected this problem to get significantly worse in future. "The financial squeeze is causing more and more householders to fall behind with Council Tax bills, and this is a problem we expect to get worse over the coming year. "Council Tax is a priority debt and non-payment of it can have very serious consequences.

Anyone who is struggling to keep up with these bills should contact their council to discuss the problem, and check that they are receiving any discounts or rebates to which they may be entitled. If you are struggling to cope you should also seek free advice from a debt charity like CCCS as early as possible." Failing to pay your Council Tax can lead to a legal action to recover costs, and in the worst case scenario bailiffs being called, and the debtor being declared bankrupt. 

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

MASSIVE RISE IN COUNCIL TAX ARREARS

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN 

FAILURE TO PAY COUNCIL TAX ARREARS CAN END IN A PRISON SENTENCE.

More people fall behind with Council Tax bills, and average arrears are also up, according to debt counselling charity. The number of people falling behind with their Council Tax rose by more than a quarter in 2011 despite Council Tax freezes across England, a debt counselling charity has warned. 

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) saw a 27% increase in the number of people contacting it for help with Council Tax arrears, from 13,353 in 2010 to 16,958 in 2011. The average amount owed in Council Tax arrears also increased, from £675 in 2010 to £717 in 2011.

The CCCS says much of the increase has been fuelled by the worsening financial position of tenants, with more people who rent than home-owners contacting the charity about Council Tax arrears for the first time. A total of 8,841 renters sought advice on Council Tax debts in 2011, up from 6,084 in 2010.

Tenants and homeowners who fail to pay their Council Tax bills can face repossession and even prison. A 51-year-old woman from Feltham, London, was jailed for 17 days in April for non-payment of Council Tax arrears amounting to £1,985, while five people from the Vale of Glamorgan were jailed for between four days and eight weeks in May.

CCCS director of external affairs Delroy Corinaldi said: "Council Tax is a priority debt and non-payment of it can have very serious consequences. The financial squeeze is causing more and more households to fall behind with their Council Tax bills, and this is a problem we expect to get worse over the coming year.

"Anyone who is struggling to keep up with their Council Tax bills should contact their council to discuss the problem and check that they are receiving any discounts or rebates to which they may be entitled. If you are struggling to cope you should also seek free advice from a debt charity like CCCS as early as possible."

The findings follow warnings from the Institute of Fiscal Studies that coalition plans to scrap the existing Council Tax benefit system, which provides discounts for those on low incomes, and to cut the amount spent on such benefits by 10% could be undermined by giving local authorities the power to decide who should get financial help from 2013.

Council Tax benefits for pensioners will be ring fenced. The IFS said this would result in much higher cuts to benefits for working-age households in areas where there was a high proportion of older claimants. It added that the 10% cut would force councils to choose between making significant cuts to working-age claimants' benefits, cutting services or increasing Council Tax.

Council Tax benefit is claimed by 5.9 million low income families, more than any other means tested benefit or tax credit in the UK. What to do if you are struggling with Council Tax payments Contact your council to discuss the problem – it may let you spread your payments over 12 months instead of 10 to reduce the amount due each month

Check if you qualify for a discount or exemption: a full Council Tax bill is based on at least two adults living in the household, but many people get exemptions, including student nurses, full time college and university students and live-in carers looking after someone who is not their partner, spouse or child. Even if you are not eligible for a regular discount, your council may be able to award you a one-off discount in cases of extreme hardship.

If you have already missed payments, work out how much you of the arrears can afford to repay each month and offer to make regular payments to the council. Only offer what you know you can keep up with: if you renege on these payments or fail to come up with an offer, the council can ask the local magistrates court for a liability order – a demand for the full amount you owe, plus costs.

Do not ignore a liability order – this could lead to deductions from your wages, the use of bailiffs, bankruptcy or repossession of your home. 

In extreme cases, it could even lead to a prison term.

Contact one of the free debt counselling services, including the CCCS, Citizens Advice or National Debtline, for advice.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

COUNCIL TAX ARREARS IN GWENT TOP £16 MILLION

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: SOUTH WALES ARGUS.

OUTSTANDING COUNCIL TAX OWED IN GWENT CURRENTLY STANDS AT MORE THAN £16 MILLION, FIGURES RELEASED BY THE WELSH GOVERNMENT SHOW.

A total of £16,730,000 in Council Tax is currently being chased by Gwent councils, including Caerphilly, which has the highest amount of outstanding Council Tax at £3,984,000. Torfaen has the least amount of outstanding council tax, with £2,090,000 owed.

In Monmouthshire £3,748,000 is owed in outstanding council tax, while in Blaenau Gwent it is £3,580,000. In Newport, it is £3,328,000. This figure is for what is owed from the last financial year, as well as outstanding amounts from previous years.

The figures also show that the total amount of written off Council Tax in Gwent currently stands at £1,192,000. In Blaenau Gwent £315,000 has been written off, in Caerphilly it is £272,000, in Monmouthshire it is £207,000, in Newport it is £271,000 and in Torfaen it is £127,000.

Councils do everything they can to reclaim the money. When repayments cannot be agreed they have the power to make compulsory attachments to benefits or earnings. Reasons for writing off Council Tax can include bankruptcy or death.

Shadow minister for local government Janet Finch- Saunders, AM, said: “It is grossly unfair that families in Wales are facing higher Council Tax bills to subsidise the minority who refuse to pay their share.  “In challenging economic times councils should be working harder to collect unpaid taxes to limit increases in bills for hard-working and law-abiding taxpayers.”

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

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