You'd think the last thing the Coalition and local councils would want to be doing at the moment is increasing taxes on low income families. And, no, it's not an April Fool's Day joke - that is exactly what's happening across England with the introduction of localised Council Tax Support from next week on 1 April.

From day one of this parliament, Pickles and Lewis have treated small businesses with contempt - and it doesn't stop there. To huge consternation in the business community they've cancelled a revaluation of business rates this year to make sure properties are tied to a 2008 rating close to the peak of the property boom.

The amount of uncollected council taxes and business rates is over £1 billion, described as a "scandal and disgrace" at a time of spending cuts. R...

This year the government is making available an extra £650 million to help principal local authorities to freeze council tax. In the last 10 years council tax has almost doubled across the UK, yet many residents have not seen a corresponding increase in the services they receive.

After basic expenses - rent, council tax and utilities - it turns out that the government expects people to live on 62p per day. That is physically impossible.

A £3m grant that loses us £5.4m is not a good deal, how could it be? Accepting it would be agreeing to more Tory cuts, and acquiescing to the cynical politics of the coalition government. As a Green, I resist.

The Government announced an initial 3.3% cut in next year's council funding on Thursday at the same time as revealing a measure to prevent a rise in c...

In a speech addressing the Conservative Party Conference today, Chancellor George Osborne focused on outlining a number of steps to deal with the country's debt and stimulate growth; the two key messages that he and the Prime Minister have been emphasising during this Conference.

George Osborne has said he will not deviate from his plan to cut the deficit, as he warned the Treasury could not afford to cut taxes in the immediate...

Chancellor George Osborne has announced measures to freeze council tax, invest in mobile phone masts and support British science in a bid to help fami...

It is the potential for data gathering that most excites politicians of certain shades. This could even have a benefit, in that a centralised valuation of estates throughout the country could contribute to updating bandings for council tax - a long overdue task.