A Question of Council Tax

by Les May

THE Poll Tax is widely regarded as the most iniquitous piece of legislation in modern times.  But it had one virtue which we are apt to forget.   It was that if you are entitled to vote in local elections you should be prepared to contribute to the services the your town provides.

Its replacement, Council Tax, alleviated the major flaw in the Poll Tax, the differing abilities of families to pay.  Nonetheless the idea that there is at least a tenuous link between voting in local elections and paying your Council Tax lingers on.  Which brings me to the question of Councillor ‘Two Votes Rana’.

We have all been expressing our outrage that a Councillor can so blatently breach electoral law and not think it a resigning issue.  But there is another way of looking at this. Here’s the question.

Did Faisal Rana pay the Council Tax levied for the year 2018/19 on the property which is identified by the address he used to vote a second time on 3 May 2018?

Over to you Councillor Rana.   Please enlighten us.

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