Scottish Independence thread

[Mr Mystery]

So why must I pay more, despite generating less rubbish for recycling, and being a less likely target for burglary (one person won't have as much ming as say a family home).

It's a fundamentally unjust tax.

[Wolfshade]

Yeah but don't forget you can get a house of 30 full time students who are tax free because reasons.

Or you can have someone living with you who is unemployed and have to pay full rate, but if that person recieves benefits then again it is reduced to single occupancy, because reasons.

It is empty homes that get burglarised the most, I bet your house is unoccupied for much longer periods than mine for instance.

[Mr Mystery]

Out the house for about 11 hoursish a day?

But, part of a communal block of flats, 2nd floor from the rear so well above ground level. Plus I live in a very low crime area (despite the resident junkies).

Couple next door both work - they each pay less council tax from me. That's inherently unfair.

[Wolfshade]

Why?

As a household they have the same services provided by the council, same fire protection, it is not light they will need twice the number of police to investigate a crime or twice the number of firemen, or two collections of rubbish/recycling.

[Psychosplodge]

You probably actually pay less anyway due to geography.
Because it takes the same amount of time to collect no matter how man people live there.

- - - Updated - - -

Also ours is literally only empty for probably less than 48 hours a year. Literally when my brother goes to the shops while the rents are on holiday. That's it.

[Mr Mystery]

If only it was just the pick up.

I produce less rubbish than pretty much anyone else in my building, because I try to buy low packaging, and where unavoidable, I ensure the packaging is recyclable, and put it in the correct bin. So my refuse is easier and less expensive to deal with.

Family of four in a two bedroom house pays the same as two people sharing a two bedroom house - why.

If it costs the same for a crime to be investigated, why I am asked to contribute more personally than the folk next door? How is that just?

[Wolfshade]

Because you still occupy one house, not half a house.

And it is worked out per property, it is a property tax.

It does not matter if you produce a fraction, or even more, it still requires a resource to empty the bins. If everyone halved their rubbish it wouldn't be a case that we would then need half the people to collect it and process it.

Think of it this way, that family of 4 each pay a fraction of the internet/phone/tv than you do, that is because they share it, you share it between one. Is that fair or should each person have to have their own package?

But if it makes you feel any better I make full payments without getting a 20% reduction so I would pay more than you if we were in similiar bands in a similiar council.

[sebi81]

Wthout knowing anything about your tax-system I guess a familiy of four pays not more than two people because on a long run it is necessary for a functional political system to have enough children.

[Mr Mystery]

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29223389]Interesting article about the reliability of the opinion polls[/url].

Worth a read if you ask me.

[eldargal]

Actually on the reliability of polls thing, one of my Australian friends pointed out a precedent, their republic referendum ten years ago or so. They had polls with a Yes vote up until the day anywhere from 55-60% apparently but the actual result was almost opposite with a very high No vote because people either weren't willing to admit they were going to vote No or got cold feet on the day.

I expect that will happen with Scotland too, I mean you have a situation where you don't know what currency you are going to have, you have no idea how industries and the economies will be disentangles and how much pain that will course, Scotland will have no trade partners because they were all signed with GB/UK, no EU membership, no clue how disentangling the armed forces will work, Deutsche Bank saying there will be a Scottish depression if the Yes vote wins and all manner of very genuine concerns about what it will actually mean which are just being dismissed by the Yes crowd as scaremongering.