How to lessen the Council Tax blow

It's March, so that means it's spring, whether that's 1st, 21st or whenever. Here at Village News we're never certain. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, "There are only two certainties in life – death and taxes,” so there’s no excuse not to be prepared for what's been dropping through our letterboxes recently - our Council Tax bills for 2014-15. This innocuous sheet of A4 paper tells us that we have an increase of -0.3% on the previous year. This doesn't sound too bad.

What our bill doesn't tell us, and what we believe it should, is how much this usurious tax has increased over a longer period. This is because it would enable residents to see a more accurate picture, when comparing against inflation, as the peaks and troughs would be ironed out.

Unfortunately there have been a number of peaks and not many troughs. (A decrease of 0.3% is, we would suggest, more of a puddle.)

Village News has gone back to 1998. In 16 years, Bromley Council Tax has risen by approximately 114%, in other words, more than doubled. In 1998-99 a Bromley borough property in band E would have paid £745.03 in Council Tax. For 2014-15 this will be £1599.97. Compare this to inflation. Using RPI (Retail Prices Index), total inflation between 1998 and 2012 - the latest year for which data is available - was 49.14%. Even allowing for two more years to be added to the RPI (which is currently around 2%), Council Tax is cumulatively running at over double the rate of inflation.

Compared to the other London boroughs, Bromley isn't doing too well either. In 1999 a Band E Bromley borough property was paying the 5th lowest Council Tax in London. In 2013 it had fallen to 12th. When we get all the figures in for this year we'll let you know where we stand now, in the meantime, what can we do about it?

There are two things:

1. Council elections are on 22nd May this year, when you get a chance to vote for your Council representatives. More on this, no doubt, nearer the time.
2. Council Tax has historically been payable in ten monthly instalments. This is great news for the Council but plays havoc with household budgeting. The back of your Council Tax bill points out that you can now pay in 12 instalments, as it now has to offer this. What is rather disingenuously doesn't tell you is that you can't just start paying a twelfth each month, you have to contact the Council to get your instalments amended. And here's the rub: You have to do it soon or you will lose this important concession. When we spoke to the Council Tax helpline this morning we were told that we had until the first payment date to request a twelve-month instalment plan.

This date - rather fittingly - is All Fools' Day: April 1st.

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