Restructuring local government finance is always a risky business as Margaret Thatcher discovered to her cost when she pushed through the community charge, or poll tax, in 1990.
Her 11-year reign ended over the toxic issue of whether to levy the tax on property or individuals. Her successor, John Major, scrapped it in 1991, funding the abolition with a 2.5% increase in VAT and replacing it with council tax. That and the nationalisation of business rate created the highly centralised system of funding that lasted until the recent changes bringing in 50% business rate retention.
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