Dear Anonymous Borough Council,
Please find enclosed confirmation from my bank that this month's council tax direct debit payment has been deferred until April 2009.
In the current economic climate, I have found myself unable to meet the rest of this year's local authority tax obligations, and have therefore decided to defer my 2008 - 09 payments to the next tax year. With most economists predicting a significant slowdown and even possibly a downturn during 2009, it was felt unwise to continue financing council services. These services I use on an intermittent basis, if at all, and therefore the impact on my day-to-day activites will be minimal. The money saved has been reinvested in products which more closely align with my current personal ambitions.
Yours with the deepest respect and a new yacht,
Gavin Whenman
Comments
matt / October 22 2008 4:59pm
Slightly confused - my understanding was that business rates were collected by Councils and given to the government. So it's not LAs that lose out but the chancellor.
/ October 22 2008 5:08pm
The Times, in the story linked to above, state:
"The whole sum [of the business rates] is in theory passed back to the Government for redistribution to councils, weighted by population and need. In practice, authorities keep what they would have been allocated each month and pass the rest on or wait for a government top-up."