With thanks to Help the Aged - from
their web site at
www.helptheaged.org.uk
Crushed by Council Tax
Plunged into
poverty
Low take-up of
benefits
The need for reform
Help us to take
action
Nobody likes Council Tax rises, but for many of the UK's 11
million pensioners, they are more than just an
inconvenience.
High Council Tax increases
threaten to plunge already poor older people further into
poverty.
There are an estimated 2 million older people already living
below the poverty line; hundreds of thousands are too poor
to properly heat their homes or eat healthily.
Council Tax pays for all the local services around us, from
street cleaning to social workers. Over recent years the
rate of Council Tax for all areas of the country has been
increasing rapidly.
Since Council Tax was introduced just over a decade ago, it
has more than doubled. Last year the average Council Tax
rise was more than 12 per cent. This year Council Taxes have
risen by nearly six per cent.
When Council Taxes rise, millions of older people receiving
an already low state pension are hit hardest.
Council Tax is increasing at
more than double the rate of pensions.
That means most pensioners are spending a larger proportion
of their income on Council Tax than ever before, leaving
less cash for other essentials.
Council Tax is based on the value of the property, and not
the income or wealth of the people living there.
This leads to the absurd situation where an older couple
living in their own home, receiving just ?182.00 between
them from their state pensions, could end up paying the same
level Council Tax as their neighbours, a young and wealthy
couple with an income of tens of thousands.
Low
take-up of benefits
Older people can get help from the Government to pay their
Council Tax - the very poorest can get all of their Council
Tax paid. More than half of all pensioners can get
reductions.
But
thousands are not claiming the money they are entitled to.
Many don't know they can get Council
Tax Benefit. Some
don't want to undergo embarrassing means-testing to receive
it.
-
1.8 million pensioners in
Great Britain did not claim the Council Tax Benefit in
2001/02, that could have cut their Council Tax bill on
average by ?432 a year.
-
Approximately one in
seven pensioners living in Britain are entitled to
Council Tax Benefit but don't claim it.
-
Pensioners paid a
staggering ?770 million too much Council Tax in 2001/02.
Some local authorities are running high-profile
publicity campaigns to encourage benefits take-up, but
others are doing very little.
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In
March 2004, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a
one-off payment of ?100 for pensioners over 70, for one
year only, to help with their Council Tax.
A
fundamental reform of the system is needed if pensioner
poverty is to be tackled - not one-off handouts.
The Council Tax system needs to be made fairer for older
people - one based on people's ability to pay, not where
they live.
More needs to be done to make older people aware of the
benefits they can claim, and to make Council Tax Benefit
easier to obtain.
^top
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Help us to take
action
Pensioners
all over the country have been taking action
to highlight how Council Tax rises are
affecting them. Some have staged
demonstrations, while others have begun
letter writing campaigns and petitions.
How have
Council Tax rises affected you?
This is an
anonymous survey, but giving us your contact
details might mean we could use your story in
our campaigns.
1. What is your
current level of Council Tax, per month or per
year?
2. By how much
has your Council Tax increased since last year,
or the year before?
3. By how much
has your pension increased in the last year?
4. How has rising
Council Tax affected what you can afford to buy,
and how has it affected your life?
5. How do you
feel about Council Tax rises, and what should be
done about it?
Please email your
answers to campaigns@helptheaged.org.uk |
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