another pensioner jailed!

[scruffscat]

I would like to know peoples reaction to the jailing today of another pensioner regarding her non payment of council tax .personally i find it outrageous.

[mrrobbo15]

...its fair enough she is jailed, shes breaking the law.....tho shud she have to pay council tax at all ? personally i think not....OAPs have done their bit, give them a break....being old must b tough enough

[scruffscat]

Thanks for your respose, this lady has lived many years on her street and for the last 2 of them has been campaigning for it to be better for the residents to live there.Its now rife with druggies and prostitution.she apparently was awarded �1000 pounds for her work from the government.But they dont seem to have done anything positive for the street.She is �800 in arrears.Just to point my parents are both oaps and get no reduction in their c.tax.I feel so sorry for older people,i know its cliche but my dad fought for this country in ww2,.hes 82.I feel this country has given up helpin and respectin its older citizens.

[Dolly1308]

These pensioners who don't pay their Council Taxes are positively dangerous and should be taken off the streets .If they all refused to pay the whole Social Services would grind to a halt and then from where would the money come to pay the Dole etc .for the layabouts who've never done a days work in their lives let alone fought for the country ! Anyway she 'll most likely be a lot safer in jail and more comfortable and not pay a penny . This so-called Labour Government has a lot to answer for !!! I wish her luck .

[bernardo]

I agree that it is outrageous. She has blatantly and selfishly wilfully refused to pay the Council Tax, thereby deliberately cluttering up the prisons and taking a space which could have been filled with a more violent criminal.

[El D]

I find it scandalous the local councils have increased council tax at huge multiples of inflation without any increase in services. Much more so than some old lady not paying her share.

[Trojanfarce]

Just one thing to say on this: John Prescott, non-payment of Council tax for 4 years, just an ''oversight''. This government (and associated councils) disgust me.

[jake-the-peg]

I don't agree with spending �24 billion on a replacement to Trident.

Do you think I should not be punished if I refuse a portion of my income tax on the back of that?

Government is not a self-service cafeteria where you pay for "what is on your tray"

[Catso]

I really admire her. Taking a stand like that, and then being prepared to go to jail over it. Wow! They don't make them like they used to!

[WaldoMcFroog]

er... yes they do. There are quite a few people in prison for refusing to pay their Council Tax. It's only newsworthy when its pensioners.

[Catso]

Depends upon why they refused, doesn't it? I'm not admiring her merely for not paying.

Yes, obviously it is more of a statement (and more newsworthy) when it's a pensioner. Just because they are a pensioner. That's the point, isn't it?

I have to say I admire a pensioner taking a stand like this far more than I would a 20-something year-old.

[4getmenot]

Can you tell me why is it outrageous? She�s broken the law.

[noxlumos]

It would have been outrageous if she couldn't pay her Council Tax to jail her. As it is she chose not to pay her Council Tax which is an altogether different thing. My understanding was that telephone numbers have been invested in her street in the past couple of years so I'm fairly unsure what she's protesting about. If she'd protested about the lack of drugs rehabilitation units then I'd have had some sympathy, likewise if she'd protested for a change in the prostitution laws so that her street could have been "cleaned up", but as it is she's just saying "not in my back yard" like everyone else, and is relying on her age to make the statement " oh no-one's spending money in my area tha way I want it spent therefore I'm not paying". Good job we don't all do that isn't it, or they'd not get a penny out of me until all troops were withdrawn from Ireland, nuclear power was replaced with a greener option, we withdrew from Iraq and Tony Blair's salary was cut to �300 per week.?

[Pippa68]

I agree ~ it certainly isn't outrageous if she has just pojnt blank refused to pay her council tax.

I say this even though I have council tax 'issues'. I always pay it ~ even though I can ill afford to I do it begrudgingly!

[vehelpfulguy]

I think it another example of the authorities hitting the "easy target"

Those of us who have jobs, a permanent address, pay taxes etc are easy to trace and therefore easy to fine or jail.

Those living outside the law are difficult to trace and therefore often escape the law.

I wonder how much money the drug dealers are making and the prostitutes are making that they are paying NO tax on. They probably make more in a day than this woman has not paid for a years council tax.

How about hitting some of these drug dealers and prostitutes instead of a generally law abiding citizen.

[vehelpfulguy]

And noxlumos says a lot of money has been spent on her street.

Judging by the picture I saw in one of the tabloids today it is disgraceful, needles and rubbish everywhere.

Maybe MORE people should refuse to pay their council tax (and income tax) and maybe then the authorities will do their job and clear some of the scum off the streets.

[Lonnie]

There are fors and against in this case, but the really disgusting thing, is they took her away in Handcuffs, just what did they think she was going to do.

[noxlumos]

Interesting point re what vehelpfulguy said about prostitutes not paying tax. This is actually not true, prostitutes do pay tax even though soliciting has been technically an offence.Prostitution is not illegal here it's just the soliciting that is or was ( there have been slight changes lately, not really for the better either in terms of working /safety conditions for the women and men involved or in terms of de-stigmatising it as a profession) but lots of prostitutes do pay tax, just so you know.
If the prostitution laws had been amended sensibly it would have gone a long way to addressing this lady's concerns, shame that the govt became so puritanical and missed their opportunity.

[Supernick]

I feel a bit sorry for her. I expect like many elderly ladies she's a Daily Mail reader, and has been fooled into thinking that prisons are indeed 'holiday camps'. Poor love probably thought she'd paid anough council tax for a fortnight's holiday in the Strangeways Camp.

At the end of the day we can't pick and choose what we want all of our money spent on. I'd like them to pick up a bit more litter round my street, but I'm aware that they do other things with my tax, so I'm not going to stop paying just because I don't get my way. Yes, it is high, and I'm sure in many cases could be better spent. Pay it, and campaign instead.

[Callithrix]

Good for her!

She took a stand against her dishonest local council. And saying a phone call got lost in the system is just bull. They're quite clearly inept at their job - but of course, very efficient when it comes to taking council tax money.

The whole community should've withheld their council tax in support. There's strength in numbers. They couldn't imprison them all, the PR would be terrible for the council.

If only more people knew the power of "people power" - the collective clout to hold bad government to account.