Despite the revelations in the Pandora Papers, a right-wing thinktank wants to tax poorer people

£20 sterling banknotes
Support us and go ad-free

Council tax must be raised to keep local services at pre-pandemic levels, a right-wing thinktank has said. The Institute for Fiscal Studies claims a 3.6% rise on council tax will be needed over the next four years. But it could be as high as 5%.

And the news comes as the Tory government cuts £20 from universal credit, leaving many at risk, and at a time when gas prices are extremely volatile. It also follows the recent revelations of the so-called Pandora Papers.

Regressive

On Twitter, people warned the hike would hit the poorest:

Read on...

Support us and go ad-free

Others warned about the mental health impacts:

Another pointed out council tax was already unfair:

Pressures to persist

The new IFS forecast claimed:

The pandemic has pushed up councils’ spending and reduced their local revenues, with the UK and devolved governments having to provide substantial top-ups to councils’ grant funding over the last 18 months to help them weather this storm.

It also said:

Some of these pressures are likely to persist, and will come on top of underlying increases in the demand for and cost of council-provided services. And a range of reforms to councils’ funding arrangements and responsibilities are set to take effect over the next few years – or should be considered by the UK and devolved governments.

Pandemic effects

And the IFS says that up to £10bn must be raised over the next 2-4 years:

Under our central projections, English councils would need a £10 billion increase in revenues between 2019–20 and 2024–25 to maintain service levels.

The IFS suggested that the Chancellor “should consider setting a baseline amount of funding (plus principles for council tax increases), with a commitment to top this up in later Budgets (or even between Budgets) if necessary”.

Tax the rich?

One thing the IFS forecast does not seem keen on is taxing the rich. Meaning that the recommendations would place the burden on the less well-off if followed by the government.

The Pandora Papers revealed details of how the global elite evade tax.  The papers raised questions about individuals like Tony Blair, as well as major Tory donors. The Guardian reported the Pandora Papers reveal Tony and Cherie Blair “saved hundreds of thousands of pounds in property taxes”.

Now more than ever, it is time for the rich to pay their way.

Featured image via – Shutterstock/Colin Watts.

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us