Reasons to sign the petition to Darlington Borough Council against another Darlington council tax rise in 2015:
- Council tax has more than doubled in Darlington since 1997.
- Council tax is already the biggest bill most people in Darlington face after their rent or mortgage.
- In the last five years, only 9 councils in the whole country have put up Council Tax more than Labour have put it up in Darlington.
- This 1.99% rise will take council tax for the average Band D home in Darlington above £1,500 a year.
- The rise will cost families in Darlington between £20 and £60 depending on the home they live in.
- The rise will cost Darlington families a total of £760,000 a year.
- If Darlington Council keeps council tax the same, it will receive £380,000 from central government - this is more than half the money that would be achieved with a 1.99% rise, and it would be money from the centre that stayed in the town.
- This 1.99% rise is deliberately chosen to avoid a local vote (all council tax rises of 2% or more have to be approved by local people in a referendum, so inefficient councils hike up their taxes by just under 2% to avoid public scrutiny)
- With elections in Darlington in May anyway, the cost of having a vote on any council tax rise would be tiny - just the cost of printing a few more ballots and counting them.
