A poll has shown strong support for scrapping the council tax system in England. An NOP poll carried out for the BBC showed 59% of those surveyed believed council tax was ‘unfair' and some 60% favoured the introduction of a local income tax. The results, published ahead of the forthcoming report on local government finance by Sir Michael Lyons, mirror the views of the Liberal Democrats who have repeatedly called for the abolition of council tax in favour of a local income tax. ‘These figures confirm what we have said for years,' said Lib Dem shadow local government minister Andrew Stunnell.‘Council tax is unfair and deeply regressive. It hits pensioners hard and single income households particularly hard.' The NOP poll also adds fuel to the Conservatives' argument that council tax is the ‘ultimate stealth tax' and should be reviewed. Last month the Conservatives alleged that Labour planned to hike council tax bills through property re-branding with factors such as the ‘look' of homes being an issue. Caroline Spelman, the Conservative spokesman for local government, accused Gordon Brown of ‘punishing' those living in nice neighbourhoods. Responding to the survey, Ms Spelman also criticised the Lib Dems' call for a local income tax, claiming it would punish working families. ‘Council tax has been engineered by Gordon Brown through extra burdens and regulation, leaving councillors to take the blame when bills hit the doorstep,' she said. ‘Replacing one tax with another isn't going to solve the problem.' Last week Derek Vaughan, leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, announced the lowest council tax rise in Wales of 3.1% while a council in Yorkshire became the first local authority to freeze council tax bills for pensioners – it also brought in just a 3% rise for other council taxpayers.
