Brits bitter over council tax, says expert
(23 January 2008)

A new survey has revealed that council tax is the "most hated" tax among many people in the UK.

The research conducted by MSN Money discovered that when compared with other taxes, such as fuel duty and VAT, council tax was the "biggest tax bugbear" for respondents.

Alistair Bruce, editor of MSN Money, said that the findings of the study were "not that surprising", despite the bill often being lower than income tax or stamp duty.

"As such the result reflects people's displeasure with the level of service they receive in return for their monthly contribution, and the rapid and often unexplained rate of recent increases," he explained.

Many people are "angry" because their bills have increased above the rate of inflation, often without a tangible improvement in public services, Mr Bruce stated.

In related news, the Audit Commission said this week that more than one-quarter of councils in England receive more income from services such as parking and school meals than they raise from council tax.