Dear Fairer Share,
I’m a UK taxpayer and have been since I was 16 (40 years!). I don’t mind paying my tax – it makes me feel like I’m contributing to society, and in most cases the more you earn, the more you pay.
Thankfully, the Government uses our taxes to pay for public services like the NHS, schools and of course, to maintain our country’s infrastructure, spending on things like highways and train lines. As a user of all of those throughout my life, I’m happy to pay my share in tax.
However, I have always had a problem with COUNCIL TAX.
I live in County Durham and currently pay £2,263 for my band D property which is valued at around £180,000. This works out at 1.25% of the value of my home.
And there are plenty that have it even worse. Friends of mine live in a band A two-bedroom terraced house in Easington Colliery. They pay £1,498 each year in tax. Their property is on the market for £30,000, which means they are paying 5% of the house value in tax EVERY year.
Meanwhile, on Zoopla I can see a band H £9.8 million six-bedroom detached house in London pays £1,560 each year in Council Tax. This is just 0.016% of the property value.
When you look at it like this, council tax is probably the most unfair tax in the country.
Friends and colleagues have heard me bleating on about this for years, so I was very pleased to finally come across your campaign. Using your calculator, I worked out that your suggested tax rate of 0.48% would mean I pay £864, saving over £1,500 every year. In my area, there are thousands of people that would benefit so much from this type of yearly saving. And it is actual pounds in our pockets.
I really hope that the campaign will be successful – I’m sure there are plenty like me that think the current system is unjust and unfair.
I will continue to share the campaign with friends and family, and will keep a lookout for any updates. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.
Susan M
Peterlee, County Durham