[user104658]

Originally Posted by Candy Cane

so the personal tax allowance gets raised by 100.00 but they claw it back via council tax and more people are caught in the net as every household pays it

Weeell, that's not really true, there are council tax reductions on low income scaling all the way down to paying zero. I didn't pay council tax in England cos we woz so poor when we lived there (two of us and a baby on 25 hours min wage, ugh...).

But yeah... for most working families, a 6% council tax increase will cost more than they'll get from the personal tax allowance increases . Robbing Peter to pay Paul, and all that.

For the vast majority, also, Scotland's 1p tax increase will cost less than a 6% council tax increase. In fact the only people who will be less affected by the council tax increase than the Scottish income tax are the highest earners - because even the highest council tax bands are only 3x the lowest. Meaning the increase for a 10 bed mansion is only approx £200 a year... whereas it's about £65 a year for even the grottiest band A bedsit.

Looking at it quickly... it seems that middle income is once again hit hardest in relation to income (average family home bands - C/D/E) who will pay just under £100 a year extra.