Sir.-In the last month I have had a number of letters and e-mails from local people concerning the expected increases in local authority precepts and council tax rebanding.

Council tax is a serious issue that affects many people in north east Hampshire and it needs to be addressed.

We in the Liberal Democrats say council tax is fundamentally unfair and should be abolished. Council tax is not related to people's ability to pay - it hits hardest the elderly and people struggling on low and modest incomes.

It is a national disgrace that the poorest 20 per cent of pensioners pay on average nearly six times more in council tax, as a share of income, than the richest 20 per cent of non-pensioners.

The council tax was designed by the Conservatives. Having failed over the hated poll tax, the then minister, Michael Howard, helped the Tory government design the next most unfair tax imaginable - the council tax. Since coming to power in 1997, Labour has done nothing to repeal this Tory tax. In fact, I believe it has made it worse.

Local authority precepts are likely to increase again in the next financial year, and it will get worse - council tax bands are to be revalued by 2007.

Local house prices have rocketed since valuation in 1991, so this will hit the people of North East Hants very hard.

Liberal Democrats are the only party that will axe the council tax. We will replace it with a local income tax (LIT) that is fair and related to people's ability to pay. Seventy per cent of households will be better off or unaffected by our plans.

Local income tax is fairer and more efficient. It will be administered and collected by the Inland Revenue, alongside national income tax. This means local councils will not be involved in collecting local taxes, saving more than £300million on bureaucracy every year.

Local income tax is tried and tested. It already works in countries such as the USA, Sweden, Japan and Switzerland. Even the Government's own Audit Commission agrees with it.

The Government has been reviewing council tax for the past 15 months. At the end, it decided to set up yet another review, designed to sideline the issue until after the next election. The good news is it is actively considering a local income tax. The bad news is it still wants to keep council tax.

ISITFAIR and other protesters are right. Council tax will be a big issue at the next election.

The best way to get rid of the hated council tax is through the ballot box.

For further details on the campaign, log on to www.axethetax.org

-Cllr Adam Carew, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (Liberal Democrat), North East Hampshire.