The people of South Tyneside are once again about to be hit by another rise in their council tax bills from April 2010. The only question is by how much?

The borough’s citizen panel is currently being ‘consulted’ on what they think the rise should be. They’ve been given three options, 1%, 4% or 5%. However, once again they have not been given the option of no rise at all.

The South Tyneside Independents have undertaken some research over the festive period and can reveal that since Labour came to power in 1997 the annual council tax burden has risen dramatically.

In 1998 council tax payers paid out around £10 billion in council tax. By 2009 this has risen to a staggering £21 billion each year.

This means we now have to hand over £11 billion a year more than when Labour came to power – and all this to a government that promised no tax increases.

In some areas, council tax bills have gone up by more than 130%. This year the average council tax bill for a typical band D property is £1,175, compared to just £688 when Labour came to power in 1997.

Councillor John Hodgson (Monkton) is appalled by the massive rise in the community tax burden and said, “These figures are staggering and just demonstrate how much council tax Labour have grabbed off the public to feed their wild spending spree.

“It’s not surprising that the public are angry and want to know why after council tax bills have doubled, Labour are still forcing through cuts in services and want to squeeze yet more money out of them by charging for council services”.

Councillor Gordon Finch (Horsley Hill) echoed Councillor Hodgson’s concerns and said, “I am sick and tired of council chiefs complaining that their income is falling, whilst our community tax bills continue to rise year on year.

“The council is constantly trying to raise extra cash from their everyday fees and charges and is becoming more sophisticated in the way it does it.

“The cost of everything from burials, leisure centres, school transport, pest control and parking are being pushed up every year and all these increases are being imposed on people in the depths of an economic downturn and when inflation is flat, surely it’s time we asked why”.

Councillor Ahmed Khan (Beacon and Bents) warns residents of South Tyneside that things are likely to get much worse if Labour wins the next General Election.

 A new Labour Party Manifesto for a ‘fourth term’ has outlined plans to introduce higher council tax bands, above inflation rises on the business rate, bin taxes and a raft of anti-car taxes.

This is on top of plans to revalue every property in England – the Valuation Office Agency is compiling a database that will give all 23 million homes in England one of 100 ‘dwelling house codes’, which are expected to form the basis of a council tax revaluation if Labour wins the next Election.

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