Saturday, October 06, 2007

£200 extra on council taxpayers to fund NHS

According to the Telegraph Mr Brown will try and do another trick like his 10p tax rate mess from the last budget where he gives a little with one hand and sneaks more away with the other but tries to hide it in the fine print.

The Chancellor will apparently announce above inflation rises in spending for the NHS and Education.

The big BUT is that as there is no money in the coffers and growth rates are down, that the money will instead be found by raising the take on Council taxes. Reaction to this from various groups below is unlikely to help Brown if he goes for an early election.

The planned council tax rises - expected to be buried in the small-print of the CSR - will anger many voters.

Town hall chiefs reacted angrily, accusing Mr Brown of plotting a back-door tax rise to

"raise as much locally as legally possible"
to fund a generous health and education giveaway.

Nick Skellett, the leader of Surrey county council said:

"It is an appalling and dishonest strategy to keep income tax at fixed levels and raise huge sums through council tax."

Eric Pickles, the Tory local government spokesman, said:

"Council tax is starting to become unbearable. Gordon Brown is using smoke and mirrors which is shameful. But, I think people will recognise what is going on. Mr Brown has already fooled them before in this way."

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said:

"Council tax is a particularly regressive and hated tax which has already put a massive squeeze on household incomes."

The assumed council tax increases in the CSR determine how much central government gives to local authorities in terms of an annual financial grant.

The higher the rise in council tax, the lower the central grant.

The problem is that Brown has emptied the coffers, not just for the now but for the foreseeable future.

£200 on council tax to pay for NHS - Telegraph

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