PRESS RELEASE 17 JANUARY 2005 

UK COUNCIL TAX PROTEST PRESENTED TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Today, 17 January, leading UK Council Tax campaigners presented their case to the European Parliament in Brussels. 

Tony Constable from Essex, and Brian Jaye from Dorset, both members of the Isitfair Campaign, told MEP's that Council Tax, as a proportion of income, of many pensioners and the lower paid is causing social exclusion and violates the Constitution for Europe. 

Since 1996 Tony's Council Tax has almost doubled, against a rise in his income of only 16%. 

Tony said "Up to one and a half weeks pension per month can go straight out of pocket into Local Government coffers by way of Council Tax." 

Tony maintains that pensioners and the lower paid are being deprived of their savings by being made to pay disproportionately high amounts of Council Tax. He also states that the right of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence is violated by being subjected to means-tested benefits to compensate for unfair taxation. 

Tony told MEP's "We have no right of appeal against its unfairness. The only right we have is to pay up whatever rate our Councils may set. Our life savings are being slowly, but systematically, extracted from our possession. Means-testing is one of the few growth industries left in the UK." 

Tony is adamant that the value of your property, on which Council Tax is based, is an unfair basis for tax. "It is people, not properties who have to pay Council Tax." 

Christine Melsom, founder of the UK-wide Isitfair Campaign, said "I applaud the tenacious manner in which Tony has fought to achieve this European Parliament hearing. It should be clear to our politicians that Council Tax will be a key election issue - if they haven't yet got the message then they soon will." 

"For many years Council Tax rises have been running at more than three times the rate of inflation. Pensioners and the lower paid cannot afford to keep paying these relentless increases. Council Tax is a grossly unfair tax - people are fed up with all the excuses and empty promises. It must be scrapped and replaced by a tax related to people's income." 

[end of press release] 

NOTES TO EDITOR 

Full details of the petition to the European Parliament can be found at www.Isitfair.co.uk/TonyConstable/TC_Page.htm 

Isitfair is a UK-wide, non party-political campaign for the abolition of the existing property-value based system of Council Tax, and for its replacement by a fairer system based on individual ability to pay.  

The campaign represents people of all age groups (not only pensioners) who are unfairly affected by Council Tax, and is endorsed by the Royal British Legion. 

You can find more information about the Isitfair campaign at :  www.Isitfair.co.uk