Take the example of a department or council that has got the
word to save 10% next year on a service they provide. To you and me that is spend 10% less money
than you spent this year. To effectuate
this they start a user pay fee for a little extra around the edges that brings
in an extra 20%. Since the little extra
only cost 10% they pat themselves on the back for needing a 10% smaller budget
that year.
Problem is they haven’t actually saved anything. It’s the other way around. They have spent 10% more rather than saved
10%. How the money was collected is
irrelevant in government services. Whether the total spend was through general
taxes or through some general taxes and some direct fees is irrelevant for the
public. They are still money they have
to pay, often not entirely voluntarily.
