October 12, 200816 yr with this whole malarkey of councils stashing our money away in foreign banks - shouldn't someone be asking the obvious question....? With councils all over the land (mine in particular) griping that the reason things are not as they should be in my ward is because "we simply don't have the money".... roads being left incomplete because "we ran out of money" (I kid you not), then why the hell is the money I pay for schools, decent policing, upkeep of roads and parks and general work in my area being hidden away in foreign bank accounts and not being spent where the annual council pamphlet promises? The one good thing about this whole Iceland debacle is that local authorities have been exposed, once and for all, as out and out liars. Councils receive their money annually. They don't pay everything at the same time. Council employees aren't paid their year's wages in one lump sum. They have to keep the money for the wages for the whole year somewhere. Councils have a 'duty' to find the best place to put the funds they have, and maybe some councils hoped that the higher interest rates would mean they didn't 'run out' of money. Councils can't win really - if they kept the money in a box under the stairs they would be 'wrong' too. Christies Hospital in Manchester (countries biggest cancer specialist hospital) also had significant sums in this bank. They were hoping the interest would pay for a few extra nurses.
October 13, 200816 yr I'm amazed that so many Councils invested money in Iclandic banks, it appears that they offered higher interest rates than UK banks did, so I suppose they were trying to get a good return. Looks pretty stupid now though. Maybe Brown will order an invasion of Iceland to get the cash back :D well it wouldn't be the first time he has been party to an invasion. I am surprised about how many invested there, too. Maybe the offered higher rates of interest but, come on, nobody ever heard of caution when dealing with foreign banks and legislation? Looks like once one council invested , the rest got wind and followed suit.
October 13, 200816 yr Councils receive their money annually. They don't pay everything at the same time. Council employees aren't paid their year's wages in one lump sum. They have to keep the money for the wages for the whole year somewhere. Councils have a 'duty' to find the best place to put the funds they have, and maybe some councils hoped that the higher interest rates would mean they didn't 'run out' of money. HUH... :huh: And, er what about the revenue from Council Tax which people tend to pay MONTHLY ICR....? Sorry, but that's a pretty lame justification IMO.... Councils need to manage their finances better, simple as... Let's face it, we bloody well ALL know what's gonna happen next April don't we, all these Councils who lost out big time are gonna put HUGE hikes in our Council Tax bills to cover their losses, and sodding Nu Labor is gonna just sit back and do absolutely NOTHING to stop them.... <_< Yet again, the ordinary punter suffers at the hands of incompetent arseholes who take stupid risks.... And we, like big fat idiots, just sit back and take it.... Time for a fukkin' RIOT..... :cheer:
October 13, 200816 yr HUH... :huh: And, er what about the revenue from Council Tax which people tend to pay MONTHLY ICR....? Sorry, but that's a pretty lame justification IMO.... Councils need to manage their finances better, simple as... Let's face it, we bloody well ALL know what's gonna happen next April don't we, all these Councils who lost out big time are gonna put HUGE hikes in our Council Tax bills to cover their losses, and sodding Nu Labor is gonna just sit back and do absolutely NOTHING to stop them.... <_< Yet again, the ordinary punter suffers at the hands of incompetent arseholes who take stupid risks.... And we, like big fat idiots, just sit back and take it.... Time for a fukkin' RIOT..... :cheer: Well i agree the cost should be spread out to all councils to balance it out a bit. This is barely anything anyway to the £400 or 500 BILLION rescue deal that someone has somehow grabbed money out of the air.... That might help the banks but it will cripple the entire of the UK for years, even if we do get some of it back in shares. But i'd imagine you'd be pleased as its reversing the Thatcher privatisation and part nationalising banks. IMO i'm not to fussed about that.
October 13, 200816 yr HUH... :huh: And, er what about the revenue from Council Tax which people tend to pay MONTHLY ICR....? Sorry, but that's a pretty lame justification IMO.... Councils need to manage their finances better, simple as... Let's face it, we bloody well ALL know what's gonna happen next April don't we, all these Councils who lost out big time are gonna put HUGE hikes in our Council Tax bills to cover their losses, and sodding Nu Labor is gonna just sit back and do absolutely NOTHING to stop them.... <_< Yet again, the ordinary punter suffers at the hands of incompetent arseholes who take stupid risks.... And we, like big fat idiots, just sit back and take it.... Time for a fukkin' RIOT..... :cheer: gosh yes - a riot - they always turn out well :rolleyes: ...... and then the council tax payers can pay for the clean up and hospital bills and policing bills :rofl: oh and council taxes are NOT the only source of income for councils. Maybe you should pop along to the odd council meeting and actually find out a bit about it.
October 14, 200816 yr gosh yes - a riot - they always turn out well :rolleyes: ...... and then the council tax payers can pay for the clean up and hospital bills and policing bills :rofl: oh and council taxes are NOT the only source of income for councils. Maybe you should pop along to the odd council meeting and actually find out a bit about it. Well, a riot worked with the Poll Tax didn't it....? :P All the peaceful demos us lot in Scotland went on did bugger all, a bunch of Londoners start throwing rocks around, the Tories sh!t a brick..... :lol: I believe that the ONLY fair system of tax is a tax based upon INCOME, Council Tax is not based upon income, it is based upon the inflated value of properties, which is just as big a distortion as the way Poll Tax and Rates were based; just because someone lives in or is renting a house that's worth £300/400k does NOT mean that they are particularly well off..... Never said Council Tax WAS the only source of income now did I......? You're either totally misreading what I post or are just being deliberately argumentative.... What I said was that Council Taxes are a monthly source of income; ie, a regular source.... You said, and I quote, "Councils receive their money annually" - this is an entirely WRONG statement as the monthly revenue from Council Tax proves......
October 14, 200816 yr Well, a riot worked with the Poll Tax didn't it....? :P All the peaceful demos us lot in Scotland went on did bugger all, a bunch of Londoners start throwing rocks around, the Tories sh!t a brick..... :lol: I believe that the ONLY fair system of tax is a tax based upon INCOME, Council Tax is not based upon income, it is based upon the inflated value of properties, which is just as big a distortion as the way Poll Tax and Rates were based; just because someone lives in or is renting a house that's worth £300/400k does NOT mean that they are particularly well off..... Until fairly recently, I would have argued for a local income tax as the source of income for councils. However, now there are a lot of very wealthy people paying very little income tax. So, either all loopholes have to be closed (very difficult as accountants will always come up with new wheezes) or we need a hybrid property / income tax to make sure that the richest pay something closer to their fair share.
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