A Nelson man is set to defy authorities by refusing to pay the council tax which was levied on him by Pendle Council for the first time.
Howard Marshall, of Beaufort Street, was landed with a bill for £16 a month following Government changes to the benefits system.
But Mr Marshall, who has been badly affected by arthritis for the last 40 years and lives on his own in a two-bedroomed house, says he will not pay the tax – and nor will he pay the controversial “bedroom tax” if he is ordered to do so.
Mr Marshall says he spends 90% of his time with his mother and brother who he lives next door to and therefore does not use any gas or electricity, and any income he receives goes directly to them.
Mr Marshall, who has worked in a variety of jobs and emigrated to Canada when he was 17 before returning to this country in 1988, said he was exempt from paying council tax before this year because he was in receipt of benefits and was now having to pay around £4 a week in tax.
He said: “I do not know where to turn. Sometimes I feel as though I may as well be dead.
“I have asked to be moved to a one-bedroomed home but keep being told to fill in lots of forms.
“I have filled in enough forms. I am tired of being told this and have decided to make a stand by refusing to pay.”
Pendle Council’s head of finance, Dean Langton, said if Mr Marshall owned the property, he was liable to pay a tax on it.
“If he has any problems with this, he should contact the town hall and talk about it with us,” said Mr Langton.