Tuesday 22 March 2005 4:28 pm
Speaking at Islington Pensioners' Forum this week I condemned the Government's failure to tackle the unfair and hated council tax.

Council tax is based on the notional value of your home, not how much you can afford to pay, so it's particularly hard on people with low fixed incomes in high house price areas - like Islington pensioners. And with a property revaluation threatened by the Labour Government, the situation can only get worse.

The budget was a huge missed opportunity to abolish council tax and replace it with a fairer local income tax, based on people's ability to pay. Under local income tax, a pensioner couple on about £14,500 income would save £1,100 a year.

Meanwhile Labour's insulting £200 cashback was jeered by angry pensioners at the meeting last Thursday.

Pensioners have seen their incomes drastically reduced because of the Council tax, even though here in Islington it's lower than the London average. The Pensioners' Manifesto - produced by the National Pensioners Convention - calls for local services to be financed through a mixture of government grants, localised business rates and income tax. Liberal Democrats agree - it's a pity the Labour government does not.