Today The Times says it has "learnt" that Government planning a new tax on household rubbish to encourage recycling as part of proposals to reform council tax. It's only taken them five months to catch up and mention the plan.
Back in February I suggested that the idea would disappear and resurface when Sir Michael Lyons council tax report was imminent, please excuse me if I'm a little smug right now. Back then the idea was floated as a tax relief on Council Tax, I said that wouldn't work because you would need to increase tax to pay to administer such a scheme. Seems I was right.
Looks like we're soon going to have Benji the Binman inspecting our rubbish. Still, if you hate your neighbour you could always just dump your rubbish in their house and give them a higher tax bill!
1 comment:
My mother lives in France and I've seen the policy arc on recycling there, and it is Lombard Street to a rotten orange that we will end up with the same set up in the UK. It starts off with recycling being done as a favour by the council, then it is edged into being compulsory and then finally it has criminal sanctions attached to it.
Give it a year or so and The Guardian will be stuffed full of recruitment advertisements for bin gestapo obergruppenfuhrers with eyewatering pay deals.
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