No tears for poll tax demise

THE government's proposed abolition of the poll tax in favour of a return to a propertybased charge has been broadly welcomed by church organisations working on behalf of society's poorest members.
Paul Goggins, co-ordinator of the ecumenical pressure group Church Action on Poverty, said he was "delighted" that the poll tax was to go. But he criticised Prime Minister John Major for increasing VAT to pay for those services being removed back to Whitehall from local authority control.
Mr Goggins said that those on income support should be exempt from contribution towards the cost of local services. And he feared that a reduction in the responsibilities of local government could weaken the voice of marginalised.
Robina Rafferty of the Catholic Housing Aid Society argued for a means tested replacement for the community charge. She said that poor, large families would be hit hard by a property tax based on the number of people living in a house.
Ms Rafferty stressed that the poll tax had added to the burden of debt faced by many people on low incomes. And she questioned the idea behind asking .those ineligible for income tax.