Shropshire Star

Letter: Scandal of council tax

As we approach the time when councils will be setting their Council Tax rates for 2015/16, it is perhaps time to expose the scandal of the high rates charged by many Shropshire towns – partly hidden within overall Council Tax charges.

Published

I am a councillor in Bridgnorth and while I personally am concerned about the level of tax here (£115.88 for a band D house) I am equally concerned about the level charged in many other Shropshire towns, excluding Shrewsbury.

I have a table showing the level of tax charged by 12 Shropshire towns compared with 22 fairly similar towns spread across England.

It shows that the average tax in Shropshire is £111.34. The remarkable Shrewsbury is just £39.89!

On the other hand the average for the 22 towns outside Shropshire is just £56.13 – just a fraction over half! Some of these other towns are close to Shropshire while others are spread right across England. The towns have been selected at random, both geographically and within both unitary and district council areas.

It is time that people generally woke up to what is happening in this county and started to raise a little hell. Furthermore it is time councillors started to take their responsibilities to their taxpayers seriously. Questions need to be asked right away before budgets are set, as to why Shropshire towns are so much more expensive.

Councillors should be lobbied to ensure that the tax they charge is more in line with the average. Town clerks should be bombarded with letters demanding action. Shrewsbury should be taken as a role model.

People of Shropshire wake up and demand action now.

Ron Whittle OBE, Bridgnorth

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