DEFERRED COUNCIL TAX PAYMENT PLAN

The idea is that those who own a home could defer payment until after they die and their home is sold. Labour MP Clive Betts, who sits on the Commons committee which supervises local government ministers, said, "It won't be compulsory. People will be able to pay the tax as they go along. So it is an option that is available for people. I think creating another option is entirely right. I think it is very unlikely that even if people chose to defer all or some of their council tax that it is going to take up all the value of their property when they sell it. There is still going to be quite a lot left in most cases I am sure."

An Office of Deputy Prime Minister spokesman said there was no reason to think such a scheme was going to be introduced but a spokesman said, "Methods of deferral are within the remit of the inquiry and are just one in a range of ideas being considered." The Conservatives said that deferring the average Band D bill of £1,214 for 20 years in a row could leave an accumulated bill of £75,986, at current levels of interest. Professor John Muelbauer, an Oxford University economist said the idea was to relieve pressure on pensioners who may be living on very low incomes. (Source: BBC News)