West Wiltshire Council Tax Petition Presented to Prescott

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 12th May 2004

The 1,200 strong petition to Axe the Council Tax collected by Liberal Democrats in West Wiltshire was presented to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott MP) in London on Tuesday.

Cllr Duncan Hames prepares West Wiltshire's 'Axe the Tax' petitions ready for presentation to John Prescott MP.

The petition, which urges the government to replace the Council Tax with a system based on ability to pay, was sent to London last week to join thousands more signatures from across the country by local Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Duncan Hames.

The Lib Dem MP who is leading the campaign nationally, Edward Davey, said:

"With the Government concluding their review of council finance later this summer, people have a real chance to influence that policy and send a clear message to the Government that they want the end of the unfair council tax."

"We have had an excellent response to this campaign. People have been completing the petition slips in our leaflets and at our stalls in the district's town centres over recent weeks. Some people have even gone door-to-door to collect more signatures from their neighbours. I am really grateful for the efforts people have made and their support for this campaign."

Said Cllr Hames.

"Although people are clearly angry about the Council Tax, they have little patience with those who complain about the system which don't actually offer an alternative. The Liberal Democrats are suggesting we replace the Council Tax with a local income tax of a little less than 4%." he added.

The Lib Dem proposals would use the existing income tax system so would save on the cost of collection.

"A lot of people would be better off, and some people, who with higher incomes would pay more, still agree that it would be fairer. After all, we will all be pensioners one day!" says Cllr Hames.