From pensioners in prison to wrong bills and Whitehall cover-ups - there's no shortage of controversy in the recent history of council tax.
But most shocking of all are the excessive year-on-year rises, which have squeezed both the public's purse and its patience.
People living in a typical home no doubt have watched incredulous and powerless as bills more than doubled to £120 a month on a Band D bill under Labour whilst key frontline services like weekly rubbish collections were brutally slashed.
Since 1997, council tax has risen by more than doubled, with the South East and East Anglia being the hardest hit. And the highest rises have been imposed by unaccountable police authorities. The police levy imposed on council tax has trebled - without a similar increase in police on the beat. Compare that with average price rises of only 35 %. And yet the public have had no way of expressing their views.
It's not surprising then, that council tax has become a universal source of resentment and become one of the most unpopular taxes in Britain. Labour Ministers tried to cover up the cracks by capping council taxes itself. It stepped in 36 times as places like South Cambridgeshire tried to set a 100% increase in 2005-06 and Lincolnshire Police Authority a 79% increase in 2008-09.
Today, I'm saying it's time to finally give the public a voice. We're already working with councils to freeze council tax to help people through these difficult times. Now I want to go one step further, and give the power to veto council tax to the public. This will replace the capping powers which I have, which exclude local people from the decision makings.
These proposals would mean that a council planning to put its tax above a set ceiling will trigger an automatic referendum of all local voters.
People will choose between the proposed rise and a 'shadow budget,' giving people a genuine choice and making sure that they are clear about what the different options will mean for local services. That means that councils will have to make the case to the electorate and leave the decision up to them. A 'no' vote would mean councils having to refund taxpayers. The threat of a public veto and refunded bills will make sure every council thinks twice about their priorities and what they are asking of residents. And council tax rises aren't inevitable. Councils like Hammersmith & Fulham and Windsor & Maidenhead have managed to cut council tax by reducing waste and bureaucracy.
The principle that lies behind this decision is that wherever possible, councils should be directly accountable to their voters. Not to Whitehall, and not to me. We're opening up the books to put information on spending and contracts over £500 online. We're giving councils more power than ever before over their funding. And we're getting rid of the red tape and bureaucracy that frustrates them and prevents them from getting on with the job. But in return, it's only right that they become much more responsive to what local people want. I don't think it's right that council tax bills have doubled whilst services have been cut back. But it's not my opinion that matters. After 13 years of central control, local waste and unsustainable increases, the public will finally have the chance to have their say.