Reader anger over tax rise

COUNCIL tax coupons continue to flood back to The Evening Star's office as readers vent their anger about this year's rise – and the threat of more increases in future.

COUNCIL tax coupons continue to flood back to The Evening Star's office as readers vent their anger about this year's rise – and the threat of more increases in future.

Ted Moore from Defoe Road in Ipswich summed up the feelings of many readers: "There should definitely be no more increases. Scrap the present system and introduce a council tax based on income, not property.

"Under the present system pensioners pay a higher percentage of total income on council tax than wage earners," he wrote.

He said more should be spent on policing the streets and on roads and pavements.

Less should be spent on hiring outside publicity consultants such as those employed to promote Sunday opening of libraries.

Tom Sully from Woodlands in Chelmondiston is a member of the pressure group PACTS (Protest Against Council Tax in Suffolk).

He wrote to urge a complete overhaul of local government finance, urging that council tax should be replaced by a combination of a smaller property tax and a local income tax.

He felt the complexity surrounding the current methods of financing local authorities helped increase the anger felt by many people.

"I know that transparency is a dirty word to chancellors and others responsible for public finances – but a little would go a long way," he wrote.

Another angry letter came from Henry Cooper of Wherstead Road in Ipswich.

He described council tax as "diabolical," and called on councils to make a list of priorities.

"Luxuries like swimming pools, theatres, sports centres, parks etc should be at the bottom of the list and when the money runs out they should be left out of spending," he wrote.

"In addition there should be a change to the tax on earnings set at a more reasonable amount and collected by central government through normal channels."