Punch ID'd the Problem in 1948.
Posted on 10/29/2006 4:53:50 PM PST by John Jorsett
Families who live in desirable areas face massive increases in their council tax bills under plans being drawn up by Labour, it was revealed.
Homeowners in affluent neighbourhoods with good schools, low crime rates and clean streets could be charged thousands of pounds extra than those in more run down places.
Ministers have purchased sophisticated 'Big Brother' computer systems which calculate the desirability of an area based on the quality of local services and the types of people who live there.
The software, which will be used in the forthcoming revaluation of all 21 million homes in England, contains astonishingly detailed data on the number of households, even those who have pets, wear contact lenses or are vegetarian.
It allows inspectors to put a precise value on each home, based not only by its size and features, but its location.
The move is a further blow to homeowners who are facing the prospect of being fined for refusing to let council tax inspectors come into their homes to photograph any improvements.
Campaigners have warned that bills could rise by as much as four times in areas which are deemed 'desirable' - sending some bills spiralling from £1,000 to £4,000.
The Acorn computer system uses marketing information obtained from companies, such as credit card and stores, to create a detailed analysis of individuals and their neighbourhoods based on 287 'lifestyle variables'.
This includes information on the age, sex, ethnic profile and profession of residents in different 'localities'.
Highly personalised information about what families eat, drink, and earn is also taken into account.
Communities minister Phil Woolas has revealed the country will be divided into 10,000 'localities' for the revaluation exercise.
He admitted: "The market for dwellings may well be influenced by levels of crime and deprivation, amongst many other factors".
The new system is based on a scheme being tested in Northern Ireland, where homeowners have seen their local tax bills increase by as much as 400 per cent.
Residents there will be charged 0.78 per cent of their home's value each year - calculated in part using the location information - pushing the average bill from £1,056 to £1,492. Individual local authorities could vary the rate.
The tax will hit Northern Ireland next April, but a review of town hall finances for England, currently under way, is thought to be looking at the same system.
The Tories warned that if it was introduced in England, average bills would soar by £436 a year, with middle-class households in the South and South East worst hit.
Several councils would see average annual bills rise by more than £1,000 - including Westminster, Wandsworth, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Richmond upon Thames, South Buckinghamshire, Windsor & Maidenhead, Mole Valley, St Albans, Winchester, Brentwood and Epping Forest.
In many Labour heartlands, by contrast, average bills would fall, because house price rises have been less dramatic since the last national revaluation.
Under the system, householders could be fined £1,000 for refusing to let inspectors photograph the inside and outside of their homes.
Improvements which could increase council tax bills range from a large extension, through to the number of bedrooms and parking spaces, to a scenic view.
The Tories claim ministers are quietly introducing the new scheme in Northern Ireland with the intention of rolling it out nationwide, just as Margaret Thatcher piloted the community charge in Scotland before introducing it across England and Wales.
Shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman warned: "There is growing alarm about the Labour Government's use of Big Brother computers to hike taxes.
"First, they want to log and record every feature of your home, from double glazing to the number of bedrooms. Next, they want clip-board wielding bureaucrats to have the right to inspect your home.
"Now, Labour intends to tax you not just for every home improvement, but also the neighbourhood you live in.
"This is the hallmark of an oppressive and greedy government finding every more stealthy ways to tax working families and pensioners and trampling over privacy when it suits them."
Liberal Democrat spokesman Andrew Stunell MP added: "Your local tax should be based on your ability to pay.
"What is now being suggested will hit retired people particularly hard. They often have spent many years in their own home and would now simply become the victims of house price rises over which they have no control at all."
A review of local government including town hall finances by Sir Michael Lyons is expected within months.
But the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain yesterday hit back at the claims describing them as "juvenile".
He said: "This is Westminster politics of the most juvenile kind. In Northern Ireland, we are introducing a new arrangement to replace one which is three decades old and clearly unfair to those on lower incomes.
"The decision to base rates on the value of homes emerged after a period of consultation and had its genesis in the last Assembly.
"It is tailor-made for Northern Ireland's different local government finance system and there is no read across for the rest of the UK."
Blair Gibbs, spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance added: "This new system will cause uproar amongst hard-working families up and down the country.
"It will effectively penalise ordinary people for living in good neighbourhoods. If there is less crime, people should if anything, be paying less in tax not more, as they demand less from the police.
"We need a fair system of council finance where local services are paid for locally, and where money is not siphoned off by central Government.
"This will not happen until we have true accountability where people can see what they're paying for, and can actually vote for change."
The software, which will be used in the forthcoming revaluation of all 21 million homes in England, contains astonishingly detailed data on the number of households, even those who have pets, wear contact lenses or are vegetarian.
Now you know why you should lie your butt off on any form put in front of you. Any information you give someone can ultimately end up used as a weapon against you by what supposedly is "our" government.
This is what happens when the populace doesn't have guns.
Sounds like Orwell only missed the mark by about 23 years.
Sounds like they could use a revolution.
Come to America, freedom loving Brits!
What you tax....you get less use/abuse of.....(i.e. cigarettes, liquor) so, I guess this is an incentive to live a trashy existence......sheesh. They should be taxing the dumps.
Karl Marx lives. "From each according to their ability...to each according to their need."
He did spend some time in England, good old Karl.
He would be proud of what they're doing.
Come to think of it with Halloween did Marx come out of his grave for this idea?
No matter how many times they try to do this it always fails. Socialism must be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease.
I've always felt that the best method (if one could say that any method of taxing is 'best') is to base the rate on the price of last sale. If the last sale was 450 years ago, then so be it.
Yes, this will mean that two identical homes, right next to each other will have different tax rates. What of it? You purchased it recently, your neighbor didn't. The neighbor has been paying taxes into the system for more time, and likely doesn't bring with them children to go into local schools, etc.
Time to hide the Plasmas.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
This will be coming to a Town, City, County, or State near you. Check your local listings.
The only substantial difference between what is going on in England and communism is simply what the government is calling it.
The better the view, the higher the tax
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Good Lord. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse ...
Correction, I should say Britain, not just England.
The UK is gone, with their dwindling native population and rising Islamic militancy plus high taxes anyone with a brain will be leaving.
As if they haven't paid for that already in the selling price of the home.
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