Tax protestors - British style

[The Dog]

Until recently, I used to regard tax protestors as a quaint American form of idiocy.

However, as the link below proves, we now have our own form of idiots on this side of the Atlantic.

English Freemen Standing In Court - Council Tax Hearing - The Takedown Begins Speed Edit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXv1a7yi ... re=related

(Note: Council tax is a tax levied for the funding of local government. Despite the title of the video, Cwmbran is actually in Wales).

The amusing thing is that having declared "victory" the video displays a letter which clearly shows that a liability order was awarded and threatening to send in bailiffs.

[Pottapaug1938]

I can't wait until these people start claiming their rights under the Uniform Commercial Code.

[Gregg]

I can't wait until these people start claiming their rights under the Uniform Commercial Code.

I'm waiting for the 'Restore Anglica Plan" where they're going to return to the Constitution as existed in 1065.

[notorial dissent]

I can't wait until these people start claiming their rights under the Uniform Commercial Code.

They do it in Canada all the time and it makes just as much sense there as it does here, except for the puzzled looks they get before being laughed out of court, since of course Canada doesn't have/doesn't recognize the UCC in a any form.

[LPC]

Despite the title of the video, Cwmbran is actually in Wales).

Where else could it possibly be?

I mean, seriously. Using a "w" as a vowel? It positively screams "Wales."

[The Dog]

Despite the title of the video, Cwmbran is actually in Wales).

Where else could it possibly be?

I mean, seriously. Using a "w" as a vowel? It positively screams "Wales."

There is of course Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but I take the point, I had underestimated your knowledge of Welsh.

Sori

[USEDANAME]

please excuse my poor thinking if it happens to be the outcome and yes alot of "if" so a hypothetical situation.

Just wondering what would happen in the above scenario if the will of the people (just for arguements sake lets assume the WHOLE uk taxpaying populous) WAS to stop paying Council tax out of sheer greed of the council taking more but giving less (cutbacks etc etc without the discounted demands offered together)
AND...using the money instead to give to their immediate neighbors (prioritising the poorest first etc).

What would the government discern from this situation. Would it (or could it even at all) change anything? Would it cause civil unrest?
Riots etc?

If the Council state all tax helps everyone in their given sphere of influence and say everyone has access to the gross combined levy in any area... but the people withheld this money and distributed it to eachother instead of giving it to the legal governing authority how would the council defend their position with permenantly inaccessable funding...
No police/Fire/etc no civil servants.. (nothing to pay them!)
What would be the outcome?

[Dr. Caligari]

Just wondering what would happen in the above scenario if the will of the people (just for arguements sake lets assume the WHOLE uk taxpaying populous) WAS to stop paying Council tax out of sheer greed of the council taking more but giving less (cutbacks etc etc without the discounted demands offered together)

If the whole taxpaying population were opposed to the present system, wouldn't they vote to change it?

[Tevildo]

please excuse my poor thinking if it happens to be the outcome and yes alot of "if" so a hypothetical situation.

Just wondering what would happen in the above scenario if the will of the people (just for arguements sake lets assume the WHOLE uk taxpaying populous) WAS to stop paying Council tax out of sheer greed of the council taking more but giving less (cutbacks etc etc without the discounted demands offered together)
AND...using the money instead to give to their immediate neighbors (prioritising the poorest first etc).

What would the government discern from this situation. Would it (or could it even at all) change anything? Would it cause civil unrest?
Riots etc?

If the Council state all tax helps everyone in their given sphere of influence and say everyone has access to the gross combined levy in any area... but the people withheld this money and distributed it to eachother instead of giving it to the legal governing authority how would the council defend their position with permenantly inaccessable funding...
No police/Fire/etc no civil servants.. (nothing to pay them!)
What would be the outcome?

You may remember the Poll Tax/Community Charge, or, more recently, the Pasty Tax. If a tax is sufficiently unpopular then politicians will change it, or be voted out in favour of a party that promises to change it. Whether this will lead to ordinary people becoming better-off is another matter, but this is a perennial problem with democracy.

The main disadvantage of your scheme is that typical council services (rubbish collection, road repairs) need to be organized on a fairly large scale. It wouldn't really be workable for every block of flats (or however you prefer to define "immediate neighbours") to arrange for their two or three bins to be collected, or for the road outside the flats to be repaired, without taking into account the needs of the next block over. Even if it were workable, the aggregate cost of lots of small contracts would be greater than one overall contract for the whole town. That's not to say that all councils arrange their affairs in the most efficient manner possible, but the overall system is about the best that can be hoped for in theory.

There's also the issue that most people will want the services without having to pay their true cost (or, ideally, anything at all), so there does have to be some system which ensures that people do make contributions even though they don't want to.

[USEDANAME]

Thank you Tevildo.

Makes me wonder how we ever got to be in this situation in the first place to still be theorising on what is essentially our disatisfaction or demands for change.

I doubt the human condition with all its faults in areas of trust and honesty would ever see things improve as things become more centralized, especially when considering how everyone wants to benefit but fewer and fewer people can keep up with the demands when all eyes are on the gravy.