Soaring cost of local taxes in HF

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Residents are paying an extra £1,039 since 97, shows research.

Local Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Greg Hands, has warned that Hammersmith & Fulham residents are finding it increasingly difficult to balance their books due to rising property taxes and utility bills.

The warnings come amid new research highlighting how much extra a typical family in Hammersmith & Fulham has paid in council tax since 1997. The new analysis reveals that in Hammersmith & Fulham, council taxpayers have had to pay £1,039 extra, compared to nearby Conservative run Wandsworth, who have only had to pay an extra £179 (and that is from a lower starting point).

The cumulative increase is calculated by adding the extra council tax paid each year, compared to the base year of 1997 [i.e. (1998 bill – 1997 bill) + (1999 bill – 1997 bill) + (2000 bill – 1997 bill) + (2001 bill – 1997 bill) + (2002 bill – 1997 bill) + (2003 bill – 1997 bill) + (2004 bill – 1997 bill)].

Greg said: “The typical family in Hammersmith & Fulham has lost £1,039 in higher council tax bills alone since the Labour Government came to power, despite Tony Blair’s pledge that he had ‘no plans to increase tax at all.

“I am very concerned about the cumulative impact of property taxes – in the form of soaring council taxes, rising stamp duty and greater inheritance tax liability. On top of this, belts are having to be tightened because of rising water and energy bills. Much of the reason for rising utility prices is in turn the impact of higher taxes like Gordon Brown’s pensions tax, higher National Insurance contributions and rising landfill taxes.

“I doubt any household believes that their public services have improved by the same amount that their local tax bills have soared. The truth is that Labour’s higher taxes have been wasted.”

September 11, 2004