Pensioner's call for tax protesters

From the archive, first published Monday 20th Feb 2006.

A TENBURY pensioner is urging council taxpayers to get behind a national campaign to protest at annual above-inflation rises.

Geoffrey Smout, of Worcester Road, is urging residents to support the IsItFair campaign.

"The campaign urges people to photocopy their bill and write comments on it, such as `that's half my pension gone', and send it to John Prescott," Mr Smout said.

"The hope is that it has a weight of opinion and the deputy Prime Minister has to take notice."

The non-partisan campaign favours scrapping the council tax and calls for taxation to pay for local services to be related to income.

"I have just turned pensioner," Mr Smout said.

"The amount of money going in and coming out is frightening."

The main thrust of the campaign is that the increases have been above inflation year after year and it is a big percentage of a pensioner's income.

Mr Smout said anybody wanting to join the protest should visit www.IsItFair.co.uk to find out how they could make their voice heard.

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