Council tax rebel (76) back behind bars
PENSIONER and council tax rebel Richard Fitzmaurice has been jailed a second time for refusing to pay the tax on the grounds that it is unfair to hard-up old folk.
Yesterday at Lynn Magistrates' Court, Mr Fitzmaurice (76), of Ringstead Road, Heacham, was given a 34-day prison sentence after admitting he had wilfully refused to cough up more than 1,500 since April last year.
Mr Fitzmaurice hugged and kissed his daughter and shouted "cheers" to relatives and supporters at the back of the court before being led away.
Mrs Catherine Saunders, for West Norfolk Council, told the court Mr Fitzmaurice owed a total of 1,568, including 85 costs.
Bailiffs had visited his home but were unable to collect sufficient goods and council tax relief was inappropriate due to his savings. "The council has taken absolutely every step to encourage him to pay," she added.
Mr Fitzmaurice, a great-grandfather, said: "I'm not a lawbreaker. I have never been in trouble. It's just on this occasion. It's all about old age pensioners. They are being shamefully treated. Many are on fixed incomes and are totally unable to pay all the increases in energy costs, food, petrol and council tax."
He also criticised councillors for ignoring an independent panel and voting themselves a 35 per cent increase in allowances last July, instead of the 23 per cent recommended. Pensioners should not be paying towards council employees' pensions, he added.
Sentencing him, the chairman of the court, Mr Sandy Chandler, said: "You are clearly a man of principle but this is not a political forum. Working within the law, we have no alternative but to send you to prison."
In November, 2006, Mr Fitzmaurice was jailed for 32 days for refusing to pay his 2006/2007 council tax bill. He was freed after three days when his family settled the account.
When asked after the hearing if they would step in again, Mr Fitzmaurice's son, Chris (54), of Heacham, commented: "That's pending."
He said it was a shame there were not more supporters at the court and there was so much apathy. "He has made us proud, but hopefully this is the last time," he said.
Mr Fitzmaurice's daughter, Sally (50), of Hunstanton, said her mother, Rita, would be "in pieces" when she heard the sentence. "Until we know where he has been taken it is worrying. He is not a young bloke, but he is ex-Army and he can handle himself."
The council's head of revenues, Mr Gareth Evans, said other taxpayers suffered if the council failed to collect tax from an individual.
Next year's council tax in West Norfolk was projected to be only 1.9 per cent higher than 2004-05. Pensions had risen by considerably more during the same period, he said.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
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