Unfair Council tax set to continue

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 21st Mar 2007

Responding to today's publication of the Lyons Report on the Council tax, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said:

"This will be a bitter blow to the thousands of pensioners in Oxfordshire who are paying high and accelerating council tax bills despite being on low and fixed incomes. The unfair council tax is a disgrace and today's report fails to tackle that fundamental issue.

"Council Tax should be scrapped and replaced with a local income tax, related to the ability to pay. That would leave almost all pensioners and middle income earners better off.

"Instead of scrapping it, the report suggests revaluing homes, but this won't suddenly make the unfair Council Tax fairer. Based on what happened in Wales in 2005 it will put up bills for a third of homes.

"Far from taking decisive action to help people, the Government has been even more fainthearted and put the proposals on the shelf until after the next election. As a result millions of pensioners and poorer families will continue to struggle to pay their Council Tax bills."