Retired vicar becomes first council tax martyr
-07/09/05
A retired vicar has been jailed in a high security prison for 28 days for refusing to pay an ‘unjust’ increase in his council tax.
The Reverend Ridley, 71, from Towcester, appeared before Towcester Magistrates who enforced a 28-day suspended sentence for non-payment.
Mr Ridley had hoped to be the first pensioner jailed for rebelling against council tax increases to make a point.
He believes that tax should be based on people’s ability to pay and says pensioners have suffered because of the widening gap between state pensions and council tax.
But he had previously said the authorities did not want to send him to jail for fear of creating a council tax “martyr”.
“I’m a protester against the council tax system,” Mr Ridley had told magistrates.
“It takes no account of people’s ability to pay and this hits those on low fixed-incomes and pensioners. It makes day-to-day living very difficult.”
Mr Ridley has always said he is prepared to pay last year’s council tax level with an increase for inflation, but no more.
The dispute arose when the council announced it was increasing its annual tax by 8.5% in one go and Mr Ridley and wife Una refused to pay a rise above the rate of inflation.
Instead they paid 2.5% extra leaving them just £63 in arrears but court and bailiff costs have increased this sum to £691.
He had arrived at court on every occasion with his toothbrush and hoped to be jailed each time to make a point about council tax increases at levels above inflation.
He is believed to be the first pensioner jailed over this issue after a tax rebel campaign started several years ago.
Other Christians have however withheld taxes over other issues such as war. Groups such as Conscience: The Peace Tax Campaign works for the legal right for those with a conscientious objection to war to have the military part of their taxes spent on peacebuilding initiatives.
Mr Ridley who has a slight heart condition, was led away to begin his sentence at the high security Woodhill jail in Milton Keynes that has housed the Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
Mrs Ridley, 70, said: “I am very proud of him. I hope people realise that this is a serious situation. We want the government and the councils to get together. Tax should be on people’s ability to pay.”
Mrs Ridley said she expected her husband to be moved from the high security jail after a short period, but did not know where he will serve most of his sentence.
The couple’s son Joe, a 30 year old chef, told the BBC: “He has been prepared to go to prison all along.”
Retired vicar becomes first council tax martyr
-07/09/05
A retired vicar has been jailed in a high security prison for 28 days for refusing to pay an ‘unjust’ increase in his council tax.
The Reverend Ridley, 71, from Towcester, appeared before Towcester Magistrates who enforced a 28-day suspended sentence for non-payment.
Mr Ridley had hoped to be the first pensioner jailed for rebelling against council tax increases to make a point.
He believes that tax should be based on people’s ability to pay and says pensioners have suffered because of the widening gap between state pensions and council tax.
But he had previously said the authorities did not want to send him to jail for fear of creating a council tax “martyr”.
“I’m a protester against the council tax system,” Mr Ridley had told magistrates.
“It takes no account of people’s ability to pay and this hits those on low fixed-incomes and pensioners. It makes day-to-day living very difficult.”
Mr Ridley has always said he is prepared to pay last year’s council tax level with an increase for inflation, but no more.
The dispute arose when the council announced it was increasing its annual tax by 8.5% in one go and Mr Ridley and wife Una refused to pay a rise above the rate of inflation.
Instead they paid 2.5% extra leaving them just £63 in arrears but court and bailiff costs have increased this sum to £691.
He had arrived at court on every occasion with his toothbrush and hoped to be jailed each time to make a point about council tax increases at levels above inflation.
He is believed to be the first pensioner jailed over this issue after a tax rebel campaign started several years ago.
Other Christians have however withheld taxes over other issues such as war. Groups such as Conscience: The Peace Tax Campaign works for the legal right for those with a conscientious objection to war to have the military part of their taxes spent on peacebuilding initiatives.
Mr Ridley who has a slight heart condition, was led away to begin his sentence at the high security Woodhill jail in Milton Keynes that has housed the Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
Mrs Ridley, 70, said: “I am very proud of him. I hope people realise that this is a serious situation. We want the government and the councils to get together. Tax should be on people’s ability to pay.”
Mrs Ridley said she expected her husband to be moved from the high security jail after a short period, but did not know where he will serve most of his sentence.
The couple’s son Joe, a 30 year old chef, told the BBC: “He has been prepared to go to prison all along.”