How much is your Council Tax ?

EricTheWeary

I get the bill in March, cry a bit and then it goes DD so by October I can't recall the detail. However, looking at the council site I think it's £2139. Seems cruel that if your property is worth £0 you still have to pay £855 per annum. FWIW we still get weekly bins plus recycling.

ESBlonde

The stunning fact is that most of what we pay in 'council tax' is straight away taken by central government. Whats left (typically way less than a third) is what gets spent of welfare, social housing, graves/crematoriums, police, roads etc. and the bins/street lights are a pitiful part of the budget. Yet we all only seem to bother about the bin collections.

chillidoggy

Band F, £216 a month.

This price includes fortnightly recycling collections (always assuming the bin-wankers decide that it's not contaminated by a recyclable crisp wrapper, and refuse to empty the bin), fortnightly household and food waste collection (this is supposed to be put in separate sections in the bin-wanker's truck, but the lazy-arsed bell-ends simply pile it all into one). It also includes the twice daily collection of completely unsorted, and unbagged rubbish thrown into the street in the area down the road inhabited by the eastern europeans.

The last Thanet District Council leader had to resign over secret dealings with a local ferry company which cost us taxpayers £3.4 million, the previous one got banged up for 18 months for misconduct in public office, and the current CEO is on 'leave of absence' while an investigation into whether, as a director of the company making the application, she influenced planning for 550 new homes is carried out.

I could go on, but frankly it's all too depressing.

Phil_aka_Pip

It would help if they'd stop wasting money on streetlights.

They should fix the tax thing by either of these two:

• abolish income tax; you pay to your local authority who spend what the need to and if there's any left over they can send it up to central government
• abolish local taxation, you pay your tax to central govt, and they send a % of it down to your local authority

VimFuego

in a day and age when corruption amongst our political and corporate elite is so sophisticated and convoluted, it is refreshing to see some good, old fashioned and could we even say honest, snout troughery at Thanet DC.

chillidoggy

Indeed. I guess they could be described as being 'unsophisticated' in their endeavours.

Philly_Q

£82 per month, after the single person discount.

JAYJO

£118 per month. I use a water meter and my yearly water bill is roughly £360. saving of about £140 a year. I dont consciously try and not use water its just cheaper all round. I have a water butt in the garden though! its handy..

RocknRollDave

I thought mine was £118, but looking at the answers above, I'm starting to doubt that.

They HAVE taken steps to cut the street lighting bill - "upgrading" to LED lights, although the twonk who decided to put them so close to the kerb wants a slap. "I'll park here...ah, can't get out of my car. Arse!"

JAYJO

RocknRollDave said:

I thought mine was £118, but looking at the answers above, I'm starting to doubt that.

They HAVE taken steps to cut the street lighting bill - "upgrading" to LED lights, although the twonk who decided to put them so close to the kerb wants a slap. "I'll park here...ah, can't get out of my car. Arse!"

Look again!!

Phil_aka_Pip

RocknRollDave said:

I thought mine was £118, but looking at the answers above, I'm starting to doubt that.

They HAVE taken steps to cut the street lighting bill - "upgrading" to LED lights, although the twonk who decided to put them so close to the kerb wants a slap. "I'll park here...ah, can't get out of my car. Arse!"

In which case the bastards just don't get it. We (well, I actually) don't want street lights. Middle of a big town, OK I suppose they might deter the odd footpad, but elsewhere they just cost a lot of money and disfigure the night sky.

Myranda

£115 for a 1 bedroom flat.

RocknRollDave

It's easier for us hulking great ugly blokes to say that, though..i wouldn't want to be a young female walking around in an unlit urban area.

In fact, strike that, I wouldn't want to walk round an unlit area MYSELF...

not_the_dj

It's spooky when you're out in the street at the moment when the lights turn off (1am on Saturdays/Sunday morning here, which is usually gig unloading time). 

Grunfeld

spark240 said:

I have an empty property...50% extra council tax ..

That's worth knowing.  That could apply to me too unless I pull my finger out.  My council give two years before slapping on the extra.

Emp_Fab

Myranda said:

£115 for a 1 bedroom flat.

I thought you were living with your mother - or rather, that she was living with you ?

As for Councils & street lighting, my lot decided they were paying too much for the electricity to light the streets, so, instead of just switching off the less important ones, they... (wait for it).....  paid teams of workmen to cut them down - four feet above the pavement.  So now we have hundreds of four foot high streetlamp stumps topped with plastic caps and insulation tape that are an eyesore and cannot be turned back into streetlights in the future.

What the fuck is that all about ?  Are they all on crack ?

Myranda

Emp_Fab said:

Myranda said:

£115 for a 1 bedroom flat.

I thought you were living with your mother - or rather, that she was living with you ?

As for Councils & street lighting, my lot decided they were paying too much for the electricity to light the streets, so, instead of just switching off the less important ones, they... (wait for it).....  paid teams of workmen to cut them down - four feet above the pavement.  So now we have hundreds of four foot high streetlamp stumps topped with plastic caps and insulation tape that are an eyesore and cannot be turned back into streetlights in the future.

What the fuck is that all about ?  Are they all on crack ?

Initially she was living with me and a flatmate - he was moving out, there were mushrooms on the wall... seemed good time to leave. 

She (finally) got to hear back from the housing association who offered her a flat - she can't quite afford it on her own.

So now I'm living with her. It's a one bed flat (I have the bedroom, and she has the living room).

Emp_Fab

...and she's still alive and you're still sane ? - i.e. you haven't killed her ?

boogieman

As for Councils & street lighting, my lot decided they were paying too much for the electricity to light the streets, so, instead of just switching off the less important ones, they... (wait for it).....  paid teams of workmen to cut them down - four feet above the pavement.  So now we have hundreds of four foot high streetlamp stumps topped with plastic caps and insulation tape that are an eyesore and cannot be turned back into streetlights in the future.

What the fuck is that all about ?  Are they all on crack ?

Ridiculous...why didn't they just take the bulbs out or disconnect the wiring?

WezV

My wife works in the council tax department at our local council, she never tells anyone that though - almost as bad as a traffic warden, except they don't have many traffic wardens around here anymore but they still have people to collect the council tax

all I will say is that if you ever get stuck paying its worth calling them to sort out something else.   We have never needed to do that, but have played with the number of months we pay over and often end up paying it over 12 months rather than 10.  It means we miss the payment holiday but lower payments each month works for our budgets.

And no, we don't get staff discount