MOTION TABLED TO ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL - 30th MARCH 2005

Written by Cllr. Simon Mc Dougall & Cllr. Martin Lury on Thu 24th Feb 2005

MOTION FOR FULL MEETING OF ARUN DISTRIT COUNCIL

ON 30TH March 2005

Proposed by Cllr S E McDougall

Seconded by Cllr M D Lury

This Council

Notes

The major and unfair impact that successive council tax increases have had on citizens;

That Conservative mis-management of the local council has been made worse by unfunded increased duties placed on local authorities and increased ring-fencing of grants by Government.

That Council Tax places an unfairly high burden on residents with fixed and low incomes, such as pensioners, as it fails to take account of ability to pay;

That English and Scottish council tax revaluation is due and will increase many people's council tax bills where house prices have risen fast since the last valuation in 1991;

That council tax revaluation in Wales has now happened, and has seen 33% of homes move up one or more bands and only 8% down. In Cardiff 64% moved up. Only 2% down;

That in Cardiff some of the poorest areas were hardest hit by council tax revaluation;

That by replacing council tax with a Local Income Tax, revaluation could be stopped, saving an estimated £200 million, and then over £300 million each year on reduced bureaucracy;

That replacing council tax with a Local Income Tax would mean taxpayers paying according to their ability to pay, and would be a tax cut for the majority

Calls on the Deputy Prime Minister

To stop the unfair tax rises from council tax revaluation by scrapping Council Tax;

To replace the unfair Council Tax with a local tax based on ability to pay, as many other countries already have.