The argument was that the poll tax was so bad that anything had to be an improvement. So with little thought, the Conservative government brought out the Council Tax. The council tax aims to introduce a degree of proportionality and fairness by charging a tax equal to the value of a house. The argument is that people who are wealthy have a high house value and therefore can afford to pay more.
However, this policy has been widely criticised. These are some of the criticisms of the Council Tax
Problems of the Council Tax
- Wealth is not the Same as Income. Just because your house is worth £200,000 doesn’t mean you have a high income. For example, a pensioner may own their own house, but, their pension may give a very meagre income. People living in the same valued house can have widely varying incomes and therefore ability to pay.