Council tax is legalised extortion

Published on 10th January 2008 in Letters

Sir - The proposed reduction of the fire service in Goole just about completes a full set of recent cuts in services funded by our Council Tax, including a police station that shuts at night, the closure of Pasture Road School and nursing homes as well as cuts in other front line education, housing and social services.

Yet every year without fail we see huge increases in Council Tax bills. As an accountant that suggest one of two things: either our money in Goole is being used to improve services in parts of East Yorkshire so remote they still burn witches, or to pay the wages and pensions of hundreds of unnecessary managers. Apart from councillors Moore, O'Neill, Kitchen and Beck-Taylor (a.k.a. The Fat Cat Four), is there anyone in Goole happy paying their Council Tax?

So I'll tell you something your councillors don't want you to know. When local authorities set their budgets they assume they will receive 97 per cent of all Council Tax. If the amount collected is less the authority faces a financial crisis because it hasn't got the funds to pay its bills or employees' wages. This is why prison places can always be found for non-payers whilst thugs and thieves walk free.

But think back to 1990 and the lengthy queues outside the magistrates' court as ordinary people refused to pay the Poll Tax. Although these protesters were only a tiny percentage of the population, there wasn't room in jail for all of them and the following year the Poll Tax had to be scrapped.

No one condones or wants to break the law, however how much longer will we put up with the legalised extortion that is Council Tax?

Paul Thompson

Limetree Avenue, Goole