Lib Dems are accused over tax rise figure
NEWCASTLE’S Liberal Democrats have been accused of scaremongering after distributing a leaflet claiming council tax is going up by more than it actually is. Voters in the city have received a pamphlet claiming the rate is increasing by 5.99% weeks before the May 3 local elections.
Newcastle City Council voted to increase the rate by just under 5% in this year’s budget, made up of a 2.949% rise in basic council tax and a 2% rise in the ring-fenced precept for social care.
Labour deputy leader Joyce McCarty accused the Lib Dems of “scaremongering”, adding they made “little attempt to let the facts get in the way”.
She said: “Government cuts and rising costs have seen the council lose some £283m and be left with little option but to increase by a small amount both the council tax and the Government-imposed adult social care precept. These together will add about 5% to the council tax charge but across the city we have seen Lib Dem leaflets going out with higher, inaccurate, figures. This looks like scaremongering.
“The only other possible reason for using the wrong figure would be that the Lib Dems sat through council meetings to set our budget and didn’t notice the correct figure. The figure quoted on your council tax bill is the accurate legal figure and I hope the Lib Dems can admit their mistake here and apologise for misleading residents.”
Although the discrepancy between the two figures is small, the 1% makes a huge difference: a 5.99% rise would have meant the council needed to call a local referendum.
Lib Dem spokesperson Greg Stone said: “A 5.99% rise was being proposed by the council’s Labour leadership until very late in the budget-setting process, before this was reduced at the last minute to 4.99%. The leaflet in question was printed before this changed.”
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