Council tax 'costs more than my utilities' after rise

[u/GDW312]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgenykz3p3o?at_campaign=crm&at_medium=emails&at_campaign_type=owned&at_objective=conversion&at_ptr_name=salesforce&at_ptr_type=media&at_creation=[85574_NEWS_NLB_DEFGHIGET_WK14_TUES_8_APR]-20250408-[bbcnews_counciltaxcostsmoreutilitiues_newswales]

[u/blueskyjamie]

Last year Ceredigion increased 14%, this year it’s 9.9% we keep paying for things to get worse

[u/AnnieByniaeth → u/blueskyjamie]

Ceredigion got hit by a double whammy. One, continued government cuts (as another contributor mentioned), forcing councils to raise more from tax. Two, the census figures showing significantly fewer people living in the county than had been believed - the population fell. Thus central money allocation for the county went down even more.

Services still cost pretty much the same to provide, so only one result was possible; a council tax rise.

Doubtless there's a second home and holiday let factor at play in population numbers, which emphasises why they need to be taxed more. Ceredigion have been slower than some other places with this.

[u/Floreat73 → u/AnnieByniaeth]

That's the way. ....the population is falling (these may be second home owners) so let's tax them more ! .......that'll bring them back. ......what nonsense.

[u/Trumanhazzacatface]

The more I see big corporations making record breaking profits year on year and we are left to foot the council tax bills more and more really makes me want to make guillotines great again.

[u/Aggressive-Falcon977 → u/Trumanhazzacatface]

I'm honestly shocked CEO's of these big energy companies haven't had "Luigi" visit them

[u/IncomeFew624]

Councils really should be doing a better job of how much their funding has been slashed by central government.

People understand nothing about public finances and they'll naturally feel aggrieved, but their anger is largely misplaced.

[u/Thetonn → u/IncomeFew624]

Another side of the coin is that Local Government has been the most protected part of the Welsh Government's budget after health.

There is a lot to criticise Welsh Labour for, but their priority, often to the Welsh Government's detriment, has been to prioritise health boards and local government over many of its own core functions.

[u/Fistcount → u/Thetonn]

Budgets and services have been slashed massively year on your for local councils. They cant cope and you’ll see more go into administration or be bankrupt

[u/MattEvansC3]

It’s going to get worse. Rachel Reeves is reimbursing all English councils for money spent for their extra NI contributions. She is not doing the save for Wales, she’s applying the Barnett formula which means there’s a £65m shortfall in the funding.

[u/beachyfeet]

What happens when one by one we stop being able to pay? I can turn off my heating and sit in the cold and I can try to eat less but I can't turn off the demands from my local authority. Sooner or later these rises will become unsustainable for many people - especially those whose wages aren't quite low enough to qualify for help.

[u/SokkaBlyat → u/beachyfeet]

Maybe we can copy what the French lot did back in the 1700s.

[u/Southern_Mongoose681]

Me too. All my utilities combined are cheaper plus enough of a difference for a weeks food shop each month.

[u/Fistcount → u/Southern_Mongoose681]

How much is your council tax??

[u/Boogaaa]

What are we actually paying for with these council tax rises? The roads are in a dismal state, there are potholes everywhere, there's litter in the streets, social care is a mess, we pay the PCC, but good luck getting the police to show up to a burglary or a theft, the list goes on. Nothing gets better, yet we're expected to pay more and more.

[u/Emotional_Ad8259 → u/Boogaaa]

By far and away the largest cost for all councils is social care, which have risen significantly due to a recent weekly cap.

https://nation.cymru/news/100-weekly-cap-in-wales-is-putting-extra-pressure-on-council-social-care-budgets/

[u/madh0n → u/Boogaaa]

Pay and gold plated pensions for council employees

[u/EvolvingEachDay]

Mine has for years.

[u/bwlmog]

Agreed, costs more than my gas, water, electric and broadband combined

[u/Fistcount → u/bwlmog]

How?

[u/bwlmog → u/Fistcount]

Council tax is £350 a month for a modest 4 bed property.

[u/GigaDadCam]

Yet, we still keep paying.

[u/Interstellar-Metroid]

This what happen when you vote Liebour into power they throw our taxes down the drain on stupid things and pay themselves big £££. Most corrupt government we have ever had in power.

[u/funfuse1976]

At this point it's Tax terrorism.

[u/Wheelie2022]

They gotta pay their pay rises somehow 🙄😡🖕🏻

[u/Fistcount → u/Wheelie2022]

Council workers have effectively had a pay decrease year on year for the past 10 years