Hackney residents have given their reaction to the recent Council Tax increase, providing largely negative views on the additional expense they will soon have to pay.
There will be a 2.99 per cent increase on the share the council gets, and a rise of 4.3 per cent overall when the Greater London Authority share is included.
SEE MORE: Hackney Council’s 2022/2023 budget explained
Hackney’s residents feel the financial strain of the living crisis
“It’s just bad for the young and unemployed, but for elderly people like me as well,” says Sandra Bush, 75, from Dalston. “I’m in band D so it might only be a pound or however much for me, but it’s exorbitant when added on to everything else.”
Many are worried about having to pay additional costs on top of many other bills, which are also set to rise in April. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the UK is currently facing the worst cost of living crisis for 60 years, with the price cap on energy bills lifting on April 1. This is expected to plunge around 2.5 million families into fuel poverty.
However, some residents expressed a different view, such as Larry Keegan, 63, from London Fields: “I believe it’s necessary to maintain services. No increase is ever welcome, however the alternative is to cut services and jobs.
“3% in comparison to other bill increases is reasonably low.”
The rise may come as a surprise to some residents. John Klein, 31, Haggerston, said: “I wasn’t aware, but that’s just ridiculous. I’ll try not use any expletives but with all the other bills going up, that’s just too much”
National insurance hikes
Alongside the borough’s council tax increase, the government is raising national insurance tax in April, meaning even more additional costs.
Jane Morris, 42, from Hoxton, is uncertain about how much she will have to pay in the near future: “I wasn’t too worried because I’m on a fixed rent that includes bills. But my landlord has told me that with everything going up, it’s likely my rent will go up by a lot when my contract needs renewing.”
