"Coventry Council Tax bills set for inflation-busting rise – to pay for fewer services"

[rebbonk]

To be truthful, it won't affect me one iota. There's only the two of us and we don't create a lot of waste. We'll simply carry on as we've always done. - You'd be surprised at just what I've gotten rid of via my bins.

But that's not the point. Asking for more money and delivering a markedly reduced service is not on. The 1992 council tax act needs reviewing and residents to be permitted the choice of just who they take services from. - It'll never happen though!

[dutchman]

Revealed: £12.5m council tax unpaid and debt collection soars as support for city's poorest cut



Coventry City Council is owed more than £12.5million in council tax, according to a new report.

The figure meant that, nationally, only six of 36 metropolitan councils in England had lower levels of council tax arrears relative to their collectible council tax at the end of March 2017.

However, only four metropolitan local authorities collected more council tax arrears than Coventry in 2016/17.

The total council tax owed is now £12.52m, compared to £12.48m the previous year.

The numbers have emerged in a council report to assess the impact of stripping £3.2million in council tax support from the poorest people in the city.

Councillors voted to make the cuts in 2016 as the council said it could not afford the means-tested support scheme which subsidises annual council tax bills for the lowest earning households in the city.

At the time, 33,500 homes in the city benefited from a reduction - with 16,000 paying no council tax at all.

Council finance chief Cllr John Mutton had considered imposing further cuts to the council tax support scheme this financial year, but eventually rowed back on those proposals.

The reports findings, and the impact of the cuts to the council tax support scheme will be debated at a finance scrutiny meeting on Wednesday, July 12.