THE Liberal-Democrats claim they want to abolish council tax and introduce a Local Income Tax (LIT).

But in power in Scotland with Labour, they are saying and doing something different. Only last month, the Lib-Dems voted against a proposal to scrap the council tax and replace it with a Local Income Tax. So they voted against their own policy!

The Lib-Dem Finance Minister actually defended the council tax, saying: "People on low incomes get help to pay the council tax. No system is perfect, but low income households receive assistance. More than a sixth of households receive full CT benefit and pay nothing." (Source: Scottish Parliament Official Record).

So why are the Lib-Dems in power defending the council tax and expressing doubts about their own policy? The reason may well be that based on Lib-Dem sums, the average Local Income Tax rate would be 4.4 per cent in Worcester (on top of Income Tax and National Insurance.).

LIT would be charged on all incomes between £5,000 and £100,000 a year. LIT would hit low income households hard, especially pensioners. Also, 71 per cent of pensioners receive income from their investments. The Lib-Dems intend to tax this.

Students, student nurses and apprentices are exempt from council tax. Fifty per cent of students have a part-time job during term time. So they would pay more tax. A student nurse on £10,000 a year would pay an extra £200 a year.

Last year, a Liberal Democrat internal report said: "We might get asked about the rate of LIT we would levy. We don't want to be drawn extensively into this!" So they are nervous of challenge. Liberal Democrats' "Axe-the-tax" campaign is clearly a sham.

FRANCIS LANKESTER,

Worcester.