LIB DEMS' SUMS JUST DON'T ADD UP - Letter (16/03/05)

Sir

The Lib Dem manifesto policy of local income tax to replace council tax is fundamentally flawed. It fails to address fiddled funding from Whitehall that has progressed apace under Labour.

Labour has burdened county councils with ever more responsibilities. It has failed to fund the burdens, thus another stealth tax via council tax.

The Lib Dem policy does not address this, it merely removed a number of pensioners from the bottom of the tax tier and there are not enough at the top to pick up the burden from the bottom.

The shortage in Somerset would be passed to average families, who will all face an increase of at least £627 (Sedgemoor) to £669 (South Somerset) per annum on every working household.

These figures are on top of any increases already in the pipeline of property revaluation under way at the moment. This would take the average band C house to band E, or F if your home is worth £160,000.

Why should the Government benefit from your home? They don't pay your mortgage. They don't pay your household bills. The Lib Dems voted for this with Labour in parliament (as usual).

Please save us from more muddled thinking (I use the word loosely) from the Lib Dems.

Liz Glaisher

Yeovil, Somerset