Petition Abolish the Council Tax and replace with a Local Sales Tax

Collecting the Council Tax as an annual payment from residents is an unfair and inefficient means to fund the local services that are essential to all our communities.

The large sums that each household has to pay penalises the low paid smaller families and favours the higher paid people. In addition, there are many people who use our amenities and services every day and yet they do not make any contribution towards the Council Tax, such as larger families, visitors and tourists.

Collecting this directly from income is also not a viable option, as this is still a direct taxation that does not take into account people’s ability to pay.

Abolish the Council Tax and replace with a Local Sales Tax on all purchases made. This will be fairer on the poorer members of our community, who by their nature don’t purchase as much as the rich, and will also mean that all members of our society, whether they are residents, visitors or tourists, pay for the things they use in our community.