THUMBS DOWN TO TORY TAX GIMMICK

12.00.00am GMT Wed 14th Nov 2007

Commenting on proposals by David Cameron that councils should be forced to hold a referendum if they wish to increase Council Tax above a set level, Liberal Democrat MP, Sandra Gidley said:

"This is just another poorly considered and hastily made Tory gimmick.

"Forcing councils to hold referendums on tax increases will have exactly the same impact as the current system of capping whereby an upper boundary on the amount of tax a person might be required to pay is in place. This will not benefit society in any way.

"No one will take the Tories seriously until they realise that Council Tax - which they introduced - is fundamentally unfair because it is unrelated to people's ability to pay.

"It is an unjust system which does not take into consideration the impact that high levels of Council Tax has on those households with a lower income. It is not right that those people on low incomes should struggle to pay the same as those who are wealthier but living in the same value house.

"Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to scrapping Council Tax and replacing it with a fair system of local taxation based on people's income and consequently, their ability to pay."