Tax cuts for pensioners scrapped (From Daily Echo)

Tax cuts for pensioners scrapped

8:57am Thursday 21st February 2008 in

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A PROPOSED ten per cent discount on pensioners' council tax has been scrapped.

It was thrown out when Southampton's ruling Tory party was ousted from power last night by a Labour and Liberal Democrat alliance.

The two parties joined up to veto the Tories' budget which promised the lowest ever council tax rise in the history of the authority - along with £6.1m of savings and 52 job losses.

The proposed 10 per cent discount for Southampton pensioner households was thrown out, with Labour and the Lib Dems claiming it favoured more well off pensioners as those on council tax benefit were excluded.

The opposition groups branded it a gimmick by the Conservatives to win votes.

The tax discount would have been the equivalent of adding on 1.6 per cent to the tax for the rest of the city.

Instead, Labour and the Lib Dems were able to get their own £173m budget voted through, which does away with many of the proposed cuts, but increases council tax in the city by 3.49 per cent.

For the full story, see today's Daily Echo