Lower the council tax
In transforming the economy following the eventual cessation of this COVID-19 pandemic ladies and gentleman, the talk shop of Parliament will have to become a workshop of Parliament, where the decisions needed to rebuild consumer demand will have to be taken.
Well, I shall take this opportunity to propose some radical ideas that will have to be implemented without objection from the professional political class who have sat on their backsides whilst this country declines.
Council tax, the most regressive and the most universal tax paid in this country, with almost 100% collection rates, has been a stealth tax for many citizens on fixed permanently low incomes, such as pensioners and those in working class jobs.
It is logical that council residents should pay towards the use of council services and nobody objects to that.
What should be objected to is the idea that low paid workers and retired persons should pay council tax then be given back the money in extra benefits, a sequence of cat and mouse that involves more bureaucratic middlemen and penpushers.
That is why we need to have flatter council tax whereby the 25% discount is doubled to 50% and rolled out across the country, it is not just individuals who struggle with council tax but couples as well.
Those Westminster talk show comedians have been freezing the council tax discount of 25% since 1993, that’s right, there has been no increase in 28 years despite council tax bills increasing year on year.
Remember that next time you vote because both Labour and Conservatives have maintained the council tax discount freeze for 28 years.
Once COVID-19 has been declared defeated the economy will need consumer spending and that spending must come from lower taxes starting with the most regressive tax in the United Kingdom - the council tax.
““The council tax discount of 25% has been frozen since
1993.”