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Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I shall have to see my Liberal Democrat colleagues outside to finish that discussion. The hon. Member for Brent, East said that she wished for a restitution of local control to local government. A system for revaluing the council tax or any form of tax that would have to be collected nationally does not appear to be in line with restoring a great deal of local interest to local government. Several hon. Members made thoughtful and interesting contributions on the central issue of what to do about local council tax in terms of revaluation and whether the tax works as a way of collecting moneys from local residents in order to pay for local services. One of the conundrums that has bedevilled local government is that the tax demand thuds on the carpet in April in the form of a notification to pay. Many people perceive that it comes their way after they have paid all their other taxes. The hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller) reflected some of that feeling when she said that people believe that they have paid all their taxes when another demand appears. If, instead of collecting VAT from the general population as they made their purchases—