Low Income Households Cannot Afford Council Tax

Local authorities were unable to collect up to 40% of council tax due from low-income households that had the charge imposed on them for the first time last year. Council tax – set on average at £5 a week – has been levied on the poorest households in England since April last year as part of a cut in benefits. But such is the squeeze on household budgets, say campaigners, that the poor cannot afford to pay even these small sums. The figures, obtained from responses from 140 councils to Freedom of Information requests, reveal that some of the biggest towns and cities were left chasing millions of pounds from the poor. Read more on the False Economy website.