Am I being a Karen?

[AHPP]

Set up a company. Pay yourself £200 a month as a PAYE employee. Plead poverty to the council to get a 100% council tax reduction. Accountant probably a bit cheaper than council tax. I don’t care if mine spends it sponsoring a panda. As long as the council aren’t getting it.
 

Doesn’t work if you need to show high PAYE earnings for credit etc. Might not work if you have reportable investments. 

[eggsarascal]

5 minutes ago, Muddy42 said:

 

What do you mean by plot?  If it used to have a house on it but that's been demolished, you can get it deleted from the council tax list.  Land plots with planning permission for a house, a partially built house or even a house that's being substantially rebuilt shouldn't pay council tax.

 

I hate streetlights in any village.

A plot/pitch for a travelling family. Technically I could have two trailers on here,  in reality my trailer is pitched here, so is my camper. Basically it's a farm that used to employ seasonal workers. One of few that kept it's residential licence.

[Muddy42]

1 hour ago, eggsarascal said:

A plot/pitch for a travelling family. Technically I could have two trailers on here,  in reality my trailer is pitched here, so is my camper. Basically it's a farm that used to employ seasonal workers. One of few that kept it's residential licence.

 

Gotcha.  I guess you could revoke the residential licence but that would probably be permanent and affect the ability to develop or sell.

[josharb87]

Yeah you are being a Karen 

 

you’re paying for living in an area that (thankfully) doesn’t need police patrols, street lights for safety, litter pickers etc. Those areas that need such services can’t afford to pay for them so other areas of society do so. Same goes for your bins, all averages out to help those that need it…….or are lazy f-wits 

[Paul in the woods]

6 hours ago, eggsarascal said:

If my bins aren't emptied for two weeks due to staff illness and vehicle breakdowns should I withhold that 2 weeks Council tax or suck it up?

 

Let us know how you get on with withholding council tax, I thought it's basically a wealth tax and has no link to the services you may or may not get. I don't think legally you can withhold it but I'd love to be proved wrong.

 

If the missed collections are down to illness or breakdown I wouldn't mind. We got to the stage where we had half a bag of refuse a month, the rest was recycled. Then the council stopped our recycling because it was too difficult for them (they bought bigger lorries that don't fit down narrow country roads). Everything now goes to landfill but they also made the refuse collection very difficult for us and often don't collect it for over a month.

 

They do seem to have an endless number of staff and middle managers who can come up with poor excuses though. At least our money goes somewhere.

[Muddy42]

You'll get nowhere with holding council tax - bailiffs, court orders, court, then even prison. Its a tax like every other tax, not discretionary depending on the quality of service.  The only thing you can do is try to get the property de-listed or merged with another property, but as stated above that may not be a great idea.

[NJA]

Doesn't exactly work like that.   They're pretty prompt to get their legal team involved.  If you don't pay it gets escalated but not to the people who would get your bins emptied or the road swept.  It's basically a tax that goes with owning a property, not an invoice

If they're not doing what they should then report to the right dept, missed bin collection, uncut verge, broken streetlight etc

Also, the tax funds the council, so covers welfare, social care etc, and also streetlights or road repairs on other roads you drive on (you don't just pay for a streetlight or bit of road outside your house)

I believe police and fire brigade funding comes from it too. Also a chunk towards parish council.

So unfortunately, not paying will achieve nothing, phoning them and complaining may well do tho.

Our council gives a very clear rundown on what the money goes towards, other than social care it's stuff I get something for, or fire/police which I may need one day.

[dan blocker]

6 hours ago, josharb87 said:

Yeah you are being a Karen 

 

you’re paying for living in an area that (thankfully) doesn’t need police patrols, street lights for safety, litter pickers etc. Those areas that need such services can’t afford to pay for them so other areas of society do so. Same goes for your bins, all averages out to help those that need it…….or are lazy f-wits 

Since when did areas that had crime get special police patrols? 

[eggsarascal]

3 minutes ago, dan blocker said:

Since when did areas that had crime get special police patrols? 

I read it chuckled and scrolled on. I'd like to see him walk the streets of Stok on Dope, (a city overrun with drugs and crime) and expect a quick response from Staffordshire police's "special patrol team".

[Bolt]

18 minutes ago, dan blocker said:

Since when did areas that had crime get special police patrols? 

Round here it’s quite the opposite.  The patrols all seem to leave the town centres before it kicks off at the weekend, and hole up in nice quiet rural lay-bys until it all passes over.