Labour manifesto calls for barrage of new local taxes on residents in Croydon
Croydon faces a barrage of hikes in local taxes under Labour plans, Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, warned today. A new Labour Party manifesto for a ‘fourth term’ has outlined proposals to introduce higher council tax bands, above-inflation rises in businesses on local firms, bin taxes and anti-car taxes in towns and cities.
Council tax re-banding: The official Labour local government manifesto, published recently at the Labour Party conference, calls for a council tax revaluation and higher council tax bands “to make it a more genuinely progressive tax”. This comes as reports have revealed that the Labour Party deputy leader, Harriet Harman, is already drawing up plans for council tax re-banding. The Government has changed the law to allow Ministers to impose higher council tax banding; this change was supported by the Liberal Democrats.
Council tax bills in Croydon have risen by 132% since 1997, taking the bill on a Band D home to £1448. A Government review has sketched out how council tax re-banding could work, and suggested a new ten-band system. More homes would be sucked into the higher bands, and the amount that higher bands pay would also increase. This could mean that council tax bills in Croydon may reach as much as £7,716 under the new system.
Higher business rates: The Labour manifesto calls for above-inflation rises in rates for local firms. Currently business rates are linked to inflation.
Bin taxes: The manifesto advocates an extension of Labour’s ‘bin bully’ policies, with “financial incentives and our regulatory powers” to “move away from dealing with residual waste in the black bin”.
Road pricing taxes: The manifesto signals a new tax assault on drivers, with the imposition of “road pricing” in urban areas, with no offsetting tax cuts elsewhere. It also signals the extension of workplace parking taxes, currently being trialled in Labour-run Nottingham.
Richard said:
“Labour’s town hall manifesto exposes Gordon Brown’s plans for massive hikes in local taxes on Croydon’s residents if Labour can cling onto power. This is a tax bombshell primed to explode after the general election.
“I fear that new council tax bands will be used to punish families and pensioners who have saved and invested in their homes, with some bills hitting the £7,716 mark.
“Only Conservatives are opposing these tax-raising plans, and are standing up for struggling residents who are paying more and getting less under this Labour Government.”
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