Council Tax must go

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 29th Apr 2005

Lib Dem County Council candidates Tim Prater, Shaun Roberts, Cllr Julie White, Cllr Peter Smith, Emily Sanger and Cllr Neil Matthews

Council Tax is an unfair tax and should be abolished. Local residents have been hit by rising Council Tax bills in recent years. Under the Conservative County Council, tax bills have nearly doubled in just eight years.

The Lib Dems want to replace the Council Tax with a local income tax based on ability to pay.

Independent experts say that half of families will be better off, with a quarter paying roughly the same under the Lib Dem plan.

Pensioners will be big winners - more than half of local pensioners will pay nothing at all!

Peter Carroll said, "Michael Howard helped introduce the Council Tax and continues to defend it today. We believe the tax is unfair and should be abolished. It's time we had a local tax based on ability to pay not based on the value of their home."