RIGHT. Gather round and pay attention all of you on Worcestershire County Council and answer the following question. If the current rate of inflation is roughly 3.5 per cent, most wage and pension rises are either at or below this level, and you want to raise council tax by 5 per cent... then what will be the effect within a few years?

Actually, never mind the mathematical detail. As every schoolboy used to know, what we are talking about is the law of diminishing returns. In fact, you might say it's a case of diminishing services and even fewer returns

as a result.

This newspaper views with dismay the authority's tax forecast and is particularly concerned about the increased burden on band D payers.

We are in a situation where ordinary breadwinners earning an average wage - but living in a modest property that has risen in value over the years - now find themselves obliged to release ever-greater proportions of their income to pour into the jaws of the monster that this ridiculous levy has become.

Meanwhile, the county wrings its hands as Whitehall passes the buck, central Government always having an eye on the potential for political point-scoring. The only chink of light at the end of this fiscally dark tunnel was last month's announcement that Worcester City Council aimed to peg its rise at 2.5 per cent.

But even this is just buying time. For at some stage, this flawed system must go and be replaced by a form of local income tax that takes into account people's ability to pay.