Double Whammy for Swale Council Tax Payers

24th April 2010

Double Whammy for Swale Council Tax Payers

Labour’s new jobs tax will hit Swale’s taxpayers with a ‘double whammy’ of tax rises. New, detailed analysis has revealed that Gordon Brown’s planned post-election hikes in National Insurance will add an extra £15 a year to council tax bills across Swale by forcing up local authority wage bills. This would be on top of the £150 typical tax hit to workers from smaller pay packets due to the higher National Insurance on their pay.

1. Compared to Conservative plans, Labour’s hike in National Insurance for employers will slap an extra £273 million on the local government wage bill across England. The combined cost to Kent County Council and Swale Borough Council would be £3,663,450.

2. Labour Ministers have said they have no intention of compensating councils, dumping the costs onto local taxpayers. This will add an extra £15 a year to an average Band D council tax bill. Under Labour, council tax bills have already more than doubled across the country. In Swale, council tax bills have risen from £616 in 1997 to £1431 this year – a massive hike of 132%.

3. A Conservative Government will stop the most damaging part of Labour’s jobs tax on employers and employees. Conservatives will cut government waste while protecting frontline services. Anyone earning between £7,100 and £45,400 – seven out of ten working people across the country – will be up to £150 a year better off than under Labour’s plans. The cost of Labour’s tax rise on employers will also be cut by more than half.

4. And Conservatives will work with councils to freeze council tax bills for two years, which could save local taxpayers in Swale up to £218 in total on a Band D bill.

Local Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Gordon Henderson said:
“Thanks to Labour’s jobs tax, local residents face a double whammy – a shrinking pay packet and even higher council tax bills. Under Gordon Brown, council tax bills always rise after a general election.

“Conservatives will stop this jobs tax, saving jobs and giving people extra income. And we’ll work with local councils to freeze council tax for two years. Spending on government spin and wasteful consultants will be cut to help pay for the freeze. People in Sittingbourne and Sheppey face a clear choice at the upcoming election – five more years of Gordon Brown – or Conservatives who will deliver the change our country needs.”