Tenant Tax axe delight

TENANT TAX TO BE SCRAPPED AT LAST.

Local Liberal Democrats are delighted that at long last the "Daylight Robbery" of Council tenants is coming to an end following an announcement today by Communities and Local Government Minister Andrew Stunell MP.

The unfair and expensive tax, that took £3.40 for every £10 paid by Stockton Council tenants, has been in force since 1989. For 13 years the last Labour Government left the tax in place.

As Stockton has now decided to transfer its housing to Tristar Homes this news is too late to help local tenants. However the £88 Million lost over the past 9 years would have made a huge difference to the quality of our tenants' homes.

Councillor Suzanne Fletcher, who has campaigned against the unfair tax for years, speaking out every year at Stockton Council meetings, lobbying Ministers and working to make the abolition part of Liberal Democrat policy at the last election said :

" The long campaign to reform this unfair tax on tenants is won at last, thanks to Lib Dem MP Andrew Stunell. It is too late for Stockton tenants to benefit but at least those in other areas will do so. Just think of all the improvements to our Council stock that could have been done like replacing doors and windows, if the last Government had moved quickly to let Councils keep their own tenants money to spend as needed by them".

See below press release with more information sent out on 10/09/09.

PRESS RELEASE

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY OF MISSING MILLIONS

Stockton tenants in Council owned homes have been losing out for 20 years it was revealed at a Council meeting last night. Councillor Suzanne Fletcher (Lib Dem) had put down a formal question to find out how long tenants had been paying money to the Government, and how much was being paid.

She was told that the "negative subsidy" scheme where a proportion of tenants rents goes back to Government and is not all spent on Council housing locally has been going on since 1989. Whilst figures are not available now for the whole of this time it was revealed that over the last 9 years a total of a staggering £88 million has been paid back to central government.

Suzanne said " I am taken aback by how much money has been lost by the tenants of this area. The official word for it is "negative subsidy", I call it "Daylight Robbery". Just think how many improvements could have been made to our tenants homes if all the rent collected could have been kept and used as it is for other landlords."

She added " Some money has eventually come back as Government grants, each one trumpeted as a wonderful gift, and yet it is only our own money paid back - later!"

End