The woman jailed for a £4,742 council tax debt she could not pay

by Guest Fri Apr 12, 2019 10:08 pm

In July 2016, Melanie Woolcock, a single mother from Bridgend in Wales, was given an 81-day jail sentence for failing to pay her council tax. Not well enough to work and receiving benefits, she had racked up £4,742 in council tax debts.

Full article:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/12/woman-jailed-council-tax-bill-she-could-not-pay

by Brutus Wed May 08, 2019 3:35 am

When I was active in a local squatting organisation I had occasion to see many eviction court cases.
Most people in rent arrears defaulted in the agreement to pay their debt, they made with the court.
Like in the case of the woman in the article, lots of people do not realise that if they pledge something in court it is the legal system they challenge if they break it.
In a society based on the enforcement of laws determined by a judge, this is a very serious offence. Not right, perhaps, but important to understand.
Courts take themselves and what they think is respectful of their authority very sternly. It is the base of their power and challenging it is a challenge to the entire establishment.
So why collectively refusing to pay a tax or abide a law is an important aspect of social rebellion and civic advancement, try to play along with the system and hope to default is much less effective.
Laws are mostly done to preserve privileges and enforce inequalities (the contraction of their extremes is a sort of measure of how civilised a society is) no one should be surprised how harsh it can be.

The woman jailed for a £4,742 council tax debt she could not pay

The woman jailed for a £4,742 council tax debt she could not pay

Re: The woman jailed for a £4,742 council tax debt she could not pay