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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Council tax debt figures 'prove the case for change' says Assembly Member
November 14, 2006 3:30 PM
The amount of uncollected Council Tax locally has helped to make the case for a new system of local government taxation that is easier to understand and collect and relates to the ability of people to pay according to the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black.
Mr. Black was responding to the fact that last year £2.7 million in Council Tax was uncollected in the Swansea area. He argued that the tax is expensive to collect, easy to avoid and that the complex benefit system associated with it means that many people end up with bills that they cannot afford to pay.
"What is needed is a local income tax based upon people's income rather than upon the value of their home," said Mr. Black. "Council Tax penalises those on low and fixed incomes for rises in the value of their homes that they can do nothing about. It is little wonder that Councils find it difficult to collect all of the money owed to them."
"The Inland Revenue already have information on how much we earn and an established system for collecting taxes, which means less bureaucracy and less chance of non-payment. Local Income Tax is easy to understand and to explain, it is cheaper to collect and does not have a vast bureaucracy associated with it so as to assess and pay out benefits. More importantly, it is fairer."
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