council tax

Fairness and finance

19 October 2011 | Paul Woods

Many local authorities have fears about the fairness of the 2012/13 grant settlement as a base for any new finance system. In resource equalisation in particular there is a significant cause for concern Read more

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Council tax freeze is LGPS members’ lolly

3 October 2011 | Heather Wakefield

The council tax freeze announced by George Osborne is being made at the expense of low-paid, local government workers’ pensions Read more

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Guided localism vs central diktat, by Karen Day

10 March 2011 | Karen Day

The local government secretary must be a happy man this week. The overwhelming majority of councils in England have decided to freeze their council tax precepts this year, leading to the lowest increase in history. Read more...

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Treasury tricks, by Colin Talbot

25 October 2010 | Colin Talbot

Gordon Brown was notorious as chancellor for announcements that looked and sounded good on the day, only to unravel as theatrics and wheezes became apparent as experts got to examine the figures. He managed to turn ‘the devil is in the detail’ from an infrequently used aphorism into an Iron Law of Budgets. Read more...

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Revaluation: if not now, then when? By Steve Freer

27 September 2010 | Steve Freer

The government’s decision to rule out a council tax revaluation during the lifetime of the current Parliament came as no surprise.  Expected spending cuts are already creating a tremendously high level of uncertainty and risk across the public services.  Launching a revaluation in this climate might mix a very, very explosive cocktail. Read more...

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The reality of revaluation, by Malcolm Prowle

27 September 2010 | Malcolm Prowle

The coalition government’s decision to defer any council tax revaluation for the duration of this parliament comes as no surprise. Politicians meddle with existing taxation arrangements at their peril. Read more...

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Referendum rights and wrongs, by George Jones and John Stewart

9 August 2010 | George Jones & John Stewart

The government’s plan for local referendums on council tax increases judged excessive by the secretary of state is not new. Michael Heseltine made a similar proposal nearly 30 years ago. We wrote a letter to the press opposing it on 10 July 1981 – the start of our writing-partnership. Read more...

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Council tax conundrum, by Barry Maginn

30 July 2010 | Barry Maginn

‘If councils want to increase council tax further, they will have to prove the case to the electorate. Let the people decide.’ Read more...

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Costing a council tax freeze, by the Institute for Fiscal Studies

4 March 2010 | Institute for Fiscal Studies

In his 2008 Conservative party conference speech, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne announced that an incoming Tory government would freeze council tax in England for two years. IFS researchers estimated at the time that if this policy were implemented in 2009-10 and 2010-11 it would cost £1bn in its second year, in 2008-09 prices. Over the past month, the parties have been disputing how much it would cost if an incoming Conservative government were to implement it in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Read more...

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