Lib Dems Blast Labour's Council Tax Cop-out

12.00.00am GMT Tue 20th Mar 2007

Islington Lib Dems have blasted the Lyons report's failure to reform Council Tax.

The Lyons review on local government finance was set up following council tax protests but has failed yet again to make any real reform of the Council Tax system.

Lib Dems have long campaigned to axe council tax. It's one of the UKs unfairest taxes, as it is based on property value rather than income

The government has already said that they will not carry out a revaluation of Council Tax until the next parliament. The last revaluation of Council Tax was in 1991. In Islington house prices have risen further than many other areas in the UK, so Islington residents may well find their houses rising into higher bands.

Islington South & Finsbury parliamentary candidate, Bridget Fox, says

"It's another Labour let-down. After 10 years of Labour government and 3 years of the Lyons review, we have a report that accepts that Council Tax is unfair, but does nothing to fix it. Pensioners and people on fixed incomes will still have to fork out for council tax which is unrelated to their ability to pay. Tenants will continue to pay council tax on property they do not own. Introducing lower bands is useless without a revaluation - and any revaluation will hurt Islington residents hard given the house price rises of recent years. Only the Liberal Democrats are pledged to abolish the unfair council tax completely."

Islington Council Leader James Kempton adds

"The Lyons report is a cop-out. The best way of raising local taxes is on people's ability to pay, not the value of their home calculated 15 years ago. Because we feel Council Tax is unfair, here in Islington we've taken it down from being the highest in London to one of the lowest. What's more, we are working with pensioners to make sure they have all the benefits they need. No one should have to choose between paying their council tax and heating their home in the twenty first century."