Wokingham Tories Told To "Get Their Facts Right" About Local Income Tax

12.00.00am GMT Mon 21st Mar 2005

Wokingham Liberal Democrats have told the ruling Tories on Wokingham District Council to get their facts about Local Income Tax right. This followed a Tory motion calling on the Government to keep Council Tax, debated at last night's Council meeting.

Councillor Prue Bray (Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Councillor Group and Councillor of Winnersh ward), said she was astonished at the Tories' lack of understanding of local government finance. She said, "Either the Tories are not very bright, or they are deliberately using phony figures. The Tories tried to discredit the Liberal Democrat proposal for a Local Income Tax to replace the current unfair Council Tax. They don't appear to have a grasp on reality, let alone on simple arithmetic.

"Local Income Tax would be a fairer tax, because it is based on people's ability to pay rather than on the value of their house.

"Most people would pay either the same or less. Pensioners and people on low incomes would benefit the most, whilst only those on the highest incomes would pay more. The Tory claim that tax will be more than doubled for average households in Wokingham is simply so preposterous as to be laughable"

Prue Bray said that the Tory motion was inaccurate on a number of counts: "The Tories keep insisting that the Lib Dem would introduce a Regional Income Tax, but this is completely untrue. They also say that Wokingham District would have to send some of their local income to other parts of the country - again, this is utter rot.

"This is not the first time we have pointed out their mistakes to the Tories, but they are still peddling the same old misinformation Have no doubt, we'll be seeing a lot more of this sort of nonsense trotted out in Tory literature as we head towards the next General Election."