LOCAL council tax campaigners have labelled the Lyons Inquiry a "sham". With the tax set to rise this year by twice the rate of inflation, Isitfair council tax protest group founder Christine Melsom has slammed the interim findings of the Lyons report as "yet another round of delaying tactics". Isitfair had high hopes of the Lyons "Inquiry into Local Government", set up in July 2004 "to make recommendations on how best to reform council tax". But the interim report, issued on December 15, has left campaigners doubtful that the final report, due in 2007, will be worth waiting for. In a statement last week, Mrs Melsom told The Herald: "For the past three years the Isitfair campaign has been arguing for council tax to be scrapped. The present system, based on property value, results in a disproportionately high tax on those least able to afford it, and it should be replaced by a tax based on everyone's ability to pay. "We expected the Lyons Inquiry to include a full and unbiased evaluation of income-related alternatives to the present system of council tax, which include our own proposal for an income tax/VAT solution and also local income tax as proposed by others. "We now know that it will do no such thing. The interim report of the inquiry makes many references to the unfairness of the present system, but then states that it will not even consider an income-related replacement for council tax. "This position is made clear in the report where Sir Michael Lyons states that his terms of reference "asked me only to look at local income tax as an additional local tax, rather than as a replacement for council tax" and then proceeds to say that "people were dubious about the idea of having an additional tax alongside council tax to fund local spending". "He must be on a different planet if he finds this surprising - people want an income- related tax instead of the present property tax, not in addition to it," stresses Mrs Melsom, who points out that there are numerous references in the report to the unfairness of the present tax. "Indeed, in the section "Key Findings from Public Attitudes" it says "fairness was considered by focus groups to be the most important principle underlying a tax system, and most equated fairness with ability to pay. To most people this meant income and, to a lesser extent, savings. Property, especially a home, was not considered to form a component of ability to pay, as it was not seen as a source of wealth that was immediately accessible." Isitfair maintains that an income-related tax would be far cheaper to administer, simpler to understand and, above all else, fairer to everyone. "Why have such alternatives been rejected without any investigation whatsoever?" asked Mrs Melsom. In her opinion, "the inquiry's blinkered approach leads them to the conclusion that extending the council tax benefits (CTB) system will address the unfairness in the present system. The means-tested CTB system has been a failure but they appear determined to keep flogging this dead horse. If the tax was related to income instead of property value, the whole council tax benefits system would be redundant, saving tens of millions of pounds every year in administration costs alone." Mrs Melsom believes the country can expect the conclusions of the Lyons Inquiry, expected in 2007, to centre on "patching up the present system with more means testing. "They even refer to the possibility of other taxes in addition to council tax, but make no reference to the cost of the associated bureaucracy that would be required to implement and administer them." Christine Melsom's warning is clear: "The people at the sharp end of this tax have had enough, and will continue to fight for it to be scrapped. We are heading for yet another round of delaying tactics and government impotence. If Sir Michael Lyons continues along the lines set out in his interim report, then this long-awaited inquiry will be nothing more than a sham as far as council tax reform proposals are concerned."