POLL: Should council tax be scrapped for those on state pension?

Martin Lewis speaks to listener about council tax

Campaigners are calling for the Government to abolish council tax for Britons in receipt of a state pension. Council tax bills have increased by five percent in many parts of England, and a new online petition has called for an exemption for pensioners. But do you agree with such proposals? Vote in our poll.

Petition creator, Brian Hildersley, has claimed that some pensioners are spending “around 30 percent” of their state pension income on council tax bills.

The petition on the Parliament website states: “We want the Government to abolish council tax for everyone in receipt of the state pension.”

It continues: “After a lifetime of paying tax, National Insurance is abolished at retirement age. We believe council tax should also be abolished at retirement.

​​“Some pensioners have to spend around 30 percent of their state pension on council tax, which can be an enormous outgoing.””

IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE POLL ABOVE, CLICK HERE

The petition has more than 6,200 signatures and if it reaches 10,000 the Government will have to issue a response. If the threshold of 100,000 is met the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Most local authorities have chosen to hike council tax by five percent from April meaning that a band D home will expect their annual bill to exceed £2,000 for the first time with an average increase of £100.

The state pension payments were increased by 10.1 percent from this week, with the full basic state pension rising to £156.20 a week and the full new state pension paying £203.85 a week.

So what do YOU think? Should council tax be scrapped for those on state pension? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below. 

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