News

Rushmoor approves controversial tax scheme

By Amy Taylor
January 29, 2013

COUNCIL tax benefit in Rushmoor will be replaced by a new scheme where everyone, even the worst-off, will pay a contribution.

The local support scheme was approved by councillors at a special meeting on January 23, despite protest from Labour councillors who said it was unfair on low-income families.

From April 1, everyone of working age living in Rushmoor borough will pay a minimum of 8% towards their council tax bill after the Government delegated authority to local councils to set their own benefit programmes.

While pensioners who receive council tax benefits will see no change to their support, everyone else who is eligible to work could see their benefit income fall.

Those who received benefits for 100% of their council tax bill will see that support fall to 92% – requiring them to pay at least 8% in a bid to encourage people back into work.

Introducing the scheme, council leader Peter Moyle, said: “This was a difficult issue since time was limited – we had to react as quickly as we could to develop a new scheme and address the loss of funding, which was quite huge.

“It was particularly difficult as it affects the more vulnerable in our community, and we have sought to minimise that.”

Neighbouring borough Surrey Heath, covering Camberley, Frimley and Bagshot, have reduced their maximum support level to 70% – requiring people to pay at least 30% of their tax bill, to which Rushmoor councillors responded with disbelief.

Labour councillor Mike Roberts slammed the decision as ‘deplorable’, adding: “The impact on the poorest cannot be comprehensively examined at present.”

Many agreed that Rushmoor’s proposal of 8% was reasonable but Labour councillors proposed that the scheme be reconsidered.

Cllr Alex Crawford said people receiving council tax benefit should continue to get the same level of support, rather than the council claiming what adds up to £431,000 during the 2013/14 financial year from the 3,600 poorest claimants in the borough.

“Early on we were led to believe this meant all recipients of council tax benefit of working age were going to have to pay something more than they do this year.

“I’ve always baulked at that, as it seems most unfair to be imposing extra charges on our poorest, lowest paid residents with the least money, while freezing council tax bills for everyone else.”

He said a hardship fund of £50,000 for the first year, set aside to ease the impact on the worst-off, would not be enough.

“There is the issue of chasing up the 720 poorest, lowest paid in the borough who are not expected to pay up,” he said. “They will end up in court if they cannot pay and they are refused payment from the Discretionary Exceptional Hardship Fund.”

Despite Labour’s concerns, the scheme was passed and councillor Charles Choudhary, who led the working committee which put the proposals together, said it would be reviewed in nine months to ensure the hardship fund was adequate and tax bills were being paid.

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There are those on the far right who would like to see the bankers responsable for the global financial melt down brought before an international court and stripped of their asset as reconpence for the disaster they have caused. It must be remembered that Gordon Brown when selling off our countries gold not only informed the financial institutions but also gave them a timetable of how and when allowing them to collapse the price of gold so that our countries gold was sold at the lowest price, damaging our countries reserves leaving our country finacialy weakened to face the global recession

peter hensman
06/03/2013 at 17:04

"Yes we are talking about Nigel a great rarity in politics he has actualy gone out into the world and had a proper job"

More like another "Banker Hugging" Tory with far right wing tory policies.

Dawi, Aldershot
06/03/2013 at 15:56

And is he the leader of UKIP? Yes we are talking about Nigel a great rarity in politics he has actualy gone out into the world and had a proper job

peter hensman
06/03/2013 at 13:12

Why does the left always go on the rampage at the mention of immigration controls? Is it because it is the only card they have left to play due to Labours admission that they have got it wrong on immigration. There has been no mention of race, creed or colour, so why raise the issue? The UK is a diverse and multicultural country and is better for it. We as a country have a responsibility not only to the native population (those who have been born here) but also to the immigrant families that have legally settled here. Our country has the responsibility of providing quality healthcare, quality education, quality social housing and full employment for the benefit of all regardless of race creed or colour, that is the right of the working class, without whom this country would go flat on its face. If you take the time and trouble to check the density of population figures for Europe you will find that we are second only to the Netherlands, proof that the growth of our population is becoming unsustainable, not next year or the year after but we are approaching a tipping point where the decline of our country will accelerate, we are already seeing the symptoms in the breakdown in law and order and the buckling of what I have called the four cornerstones. We as a country need to bring our countries population growth under control and the only way we can do that is to control immigration because this is the key to improving life in our country.

peter hensman
06/03/2013 at 13:07

Now I wonder who this could be:

1 His father was a stockbroker in the City

2 In 1982 he joined the London commodity brokerage firm Drexel Burnham Lambert

3 In 1986, he joined Credit Lyonnais Rouse

4 He joined Refco in 1994, and Natexis Metals in 2003

5 Active in the Conservative Party from his school days, he left the party in 1992

Any Guesses.

Dawi, Aldershot
06/03/2013 at 13:04

@ Dawi and Unhappy How would you change things??????????????

peter hensman
06/03/2013 at 01:06

@Dawi, Aldershot: “Experience in Scotland and Wales shows that free prescriptions is a system that is regularly abused. CHBs will therefore be allowed to introduce a small charge (e.g. £1) for everyone if they believe this will assist in controlling these abuses.” Post code lottery on prescription charges.

Rather IRONIC coming from professional politicians who scrounge and/or abuse from the public purse as exposed by the MPs Expenses scandal. The fact that the Torygraph controlled the flow of information it manipulated what it released into the public domain to its own political ends, in my view.

Witness the gargantuan abuse of power by the News Corp and the other media in the phone hacking scandal, spanning several decades. STILL they think they are worthy to be OUTSIDE THE LAW, aka the FREE press, unlike broadcast media. So that they can continue to spew Right Whinge propaganda as the Daily Mail, Daily Express - remember the headline "It's the Sun that won it."

It's time elected officials were retained subject to similar terms as self-employed contract employees. No more fat cat privileges.

I couldn't believe it when MPs House of Conman's Bar brawl exposed that MPs, earning as much as £100,000/year gross when ALL is added up, were getting subsidised drinks!! Oh, you poor things!

unhappy (now disgusted)
06/03/2013 at 00:54

@peter hensman: "The four main corner stones Health, Education, Housing and employment are buckling under the strain of the growing population which has been boosted by uncontrolled immigration."

That is just plain xenophobic and racist nonsense.

This country has been ruined by the inepts elected to Run and manage the country.

"Health, Education, Housing and employment are buckling under the strain of" of poor management by the inepts elected. For example the lack of funding.

Immigrants have the highest self-employment rate according to the 2009 Local Communities and Governments report.

Just go look at Station Road, Aldershot for example. Then go look at petrol stations and news agents etc both these businesses were declining and abandoned by white Brits but taken over and are now run by British ethnic minorities, just like the empty shops on station road and elsewhere in Rushmoor.

Look at the FACTS and not parrot xenophobic and racist rhetoric of inept politicians like Mr Gerald Howorthless, MP for Aldershot.

unhappy (now disgusted)
05/03/2013 at 19:04

Hum, Health “UKIP will: Dramatically cut the Department of Health and bring in professional procurement skills to reduce the huge amounts of money wasted in procurement and resource allocation.” So they are planning to sack one load of bureaucrats then hire another lot.

“Beveridge’s founding principles of the NHS actually recommended a co-insurance model and a UKIP government would undertake a cost-benefit analysis of reverting to this concept.” So everyone is going to have to pay more.

“Experience in Scotland and Wales shows that free prescriptions is a system that is regularly abused. CHBs will therefore be allowed to introduce a small charge (e.g. £1) for everyone if they believe this will assist in controlling these abuses.” Post code lottery on prescription charges.

Employment

“UKIP would put an end to most legislation regarding matters such as weekly working hours, holidays and holiday, overtime, redundancy or sick pay etc.”

No policies on Housing or Education but there is the following for Immigration and Asylum: “Enforce the existing terms of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees until Britain replaces it with an Asylum Act.” “Repeal the 1998 Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

Dawi, Aldershot
05/03/2013 at 19:02

"Time to take Ukip seriously now? Don’t make me laugh - They're a rising political force, but even if I try my hardest I can't stop the giggles"

see: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/time-to-take-ukip-seriously-now-dont-make-me-laugh-8519524.html

One ONLY need look at the the UKIP leadership, their backers and their Prospective Candidates to realise why one should reject them.

For one thing they are a bunch of self-serving opportunists - Oh just like the cretins in Labour and Conservative Party. After all why would ethnic minorities join a xenophobic and potentially a racist party?

As for being the proverbially one-trick pony, well they have ONLY themselves to blame as they shout loudest and mostly about the EU and getting out of it and immigration. Their party symbol reflects that.

However, "Special Report: What voters should know about Ukip - Is there more to the party than an obsession with immigration and getting Britain out of the European Union?"

see: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/special-report-what-voters-should-know-about-ukip-8517997.html?origin=internalSearch

unhappy (now disgusted)
05/03/2013 at 18:41

@ Dawi And I take it that the media is also responsible for the content of the UKIP web site (which I’ve just had a look at), because there doesn’t seem to me to be any difference.

The four main corner stones Health, Education, Housing and employment are buckling under the strain of the growing population which has been boosted by uncontrolled immigration. To turn our country around we need to put a stop to further immigration and to do that we need to sort out the EU problem. It is about regaining controll of our country and creating a stable base to build on, untill that has been achieved we will continue as we are now under the present government of waisting money patching up a failing system, we need to prepare our country for growth, not of population but of industry, growth in our standard of living and growth in our quality of life. It is about building a country where people can enjoy life not just survive it, no matter their colour or beliefs.

peter hensman
05/03/2013 at 12:21

GetHants you need to look up the SkyNews report from Aldershot with reference to Philip Hammon: cut welfare not troops [ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9903911/Philip-Hammond-cut-welfare-not-troops.html#comment-817764663 ]

It carries a interviews with staff and patrons (Aldershot Constituents) at the Red Lion Pub on High Street Aldershot.

Jim Barker, Manager, says while FURTHER MOD cuts are not acceptable NEITHER are the Tory CU*Ts to Welfare as there aren't any jobs for the unemployed and what are they going to live on?

Then it shows an interview with Mr Gerald Howworthless, MP for Aldershot, Outside the RBC Offices, who says we must not look inwards (at which point I LOL!!!). We need strong defence. So we must make CRUEL decisions and CUT Welfare (at which point I stopped laughing and thought what a stupid man. How did he ever get elected?)!!

So Aldershot lets make a "CRUEL" decision in May to get rid of these out of touch, citizens of la-la land, Tories.

Then come General Election make a CRUEL decision and get rid of Mr Gerald Howworthless, MP for Aldershot.

Lets follow the example of citizens of Eastleigh.

unhappy (now disgusted)
03/03/2013 at 16:15

@PJA: "everything i have said is true,"

In posts here you claimed you had to live on Benefits of around £111.xx/week from this you had to pay everything such as your Council Tax, Mortgage, etc as you did not get any other Benefits!!

I note from your posts on the flood affected areas article that you have young kids, so you get Child Benefit.

You keep IGNORING the fact that the Benefit of around £111.xx/week are for YOU and YOUR wife. Plus YOU would be getting for your Children as well as the USUAL Child Benefit.

Suddenly when I asked you for details of you income you CLAIM your wife, despite still suffering from cancer has had herself declared fit for work! HALLELUJAH!!!

So she is now classed as an unemployed, like YOU. Thus as an UNEMPLOYED married couple you will get a married couples rate which means you qualify for Council Tax Benefits and as per the current policy you will have to pay 8% like ALL OTHER UNEMPLOYED and working-age benefit Claimants.

Thus, it's NOT too difficult to find HOLES in your cheesy STORIES!! I would've asked if you ever thought of becoming a fiction writer but you are obviously not good at all. :-))

unhappy (now disgusted)
03/03/2013 at 15:57

some people are so offensive on here and the aldershot news allow it!

everything i have said is true, and some can believe what they like.

The original story on this article was about those who have had council tax paid for them for free by the rate payer, now have to help contribute towards the council tax by 8%, I understand that some will struggle to pay this but their have and are some that struggle to pay the full council tax.

Everyone in the borough that is either working or on benefits are struggling and paying the council tax is only one of the bills that has to be paid.

PJA
03/03/2013 at 07:22

@PJA - Tory troll or just a Dull boy says: "But Hey Ho my wife is looking for work allthough she is still having chemo and suffering from cancer. 2

Hey Ho @PJA that's a rather rather tall story - about as tall as 7 Dwarfs!! Or is it a little Snow White lie?