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BRENTWOOD residents owe nearly 1.5 million in unpaid council tax.

Ratepayers currently owe 1,465,991.38, with some dating as far back as April 1993, when the tax was introduced by John Major's Conservative Government.

Brentwood Borough Council

Of this sum, 1,084,833.62 is owed to Essex County Council, which receives 74 per cent of all council tax revenue.

Brentwood Borough Council is due 12 per cent of the total, or 175,918.97.

The rest of the outstanding money is due to be split between the county's police and fire authorities, plus the nine parish councils in the borough of Brentwood.

The news emerged following a Freedom of Information request to Brentwood Borough Council, which is responsible for collecting all council tax in the town and surrounding villages.

At present, there are 32,203 ratepayers in the borough.

Our revelation comes in the wake of the borough council's decision to cut its council tax precept by 2.1 per cent from April.

Campaign group the TaxPayers' Alliance urged the council to pursue the hardcore who refuse to pay council tax.

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Brentwood Gazette published £1.5m in council tax uncollected by borough

By Jessica King

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: February 29, 2012 (Issue # 1697)

Reindeer are herded at a snowy camp in the taiga in northern Mongolia.

Mongolia is a country of extremes. From the climate to the economy to the landscape it is dramatic and unpredictable. Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, is even labeled the coldest capital on earth.

Despite the terrifying-sounding statistics, a rapidly growing number of foreigners are permanently settling in Mongolia, particularly in Ulaanbaatar (dubbed UB).

A third of the countrys population of about three million people live in UB. Of them, approximately four to five thousand are expatriates.

There are few concrete studies on the future demography of the country, but many current expats believe the number of foreign residents could rise significantly in the next five years, with some predicting the figures will reach as many as 50,000 by 2017.

But what attracts foreigners to Mongolia?

There are many factors that draw adventurous souls to Mongolia, a country rich in culture and history, sandwiched between two geographic giants Russia and China but one of the main attractions lies in the prospects of the countrys rapidly developing economy, more specifically in mining.

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Ulaanbaatar Makes Unlikely Magnet for Expats

LONDON (Reuters) - Canada's natural beauty, multicultural society, health care service and security made it the top place on the planet for UK expats, according to an annual index released on Wednesday.

The NatWest International Personal Banking Quality of Life Index also reported that despite a global economic malaise, more than two thirds of UK expats had not seen a reduction in their quality of life abroad and fewer planned to return home.

The fifth index by Britain's Natwest bank revealed most UK expats believe their decision to move abroad was right and that more than half of them have not had to reduce their spending significantly despite the economic backlash from a debt crisis that has depressed the global economy for years.

NatWest head of International Personal Banking Dave Isley said in a statement that the index showed expats had sailed through the most troubled global economic period since the end of World War Two.

"Our Quality of Life Index - which examines expats real life perceptions and experiences and gauges their personal assessments - shows the global financial crisis has failed to dampen the spirits of expats who seem to have adopted the 'keep calm, carry on' philosophy," he said.

Expats living in China, UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore said their financial position had 'improved dramatically' since moving to the country. Those living in Australia, Canada and New Zealand assessed their financial position as having 'improved significantly'.

Those living in Western Europe, South Africa and the United States were less enthusiastic about the improvement in their financial prospects and reported their financial position to have 'improved moderately'.

The index also reported that those Britons who escaped to the sun in Spain, France and Portugal are counting the cost of their moves as their disposable income is eroded and the cost of living rises during a period of budget austerity ushered in by a euro zone crisis that has hit market confidence in several countries tied to the single European currency.

When the first Quality of Life Index was carried out in 2007, confidence around the world was high as the global economy was expanding, household prosperity was increasing and global GDP forecasts were positive, Isley said.

"Fast forward five years and it's a very different picture however, it is the expats who are riding the storm with the majority planning to remain abroad," he said. "Those who are most likely to return home are those who retired to France, Portugal and Spain as their disposable income diminishes and the cost of living rises."

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Canada tops UK expat lifestyle quality index

Youve heard about housing bubbles, commodity bubbles and the Internet bubble.

Are we in the midst of a dividend bubble?

After the big runup in dividend stocks over the past couple of years, a few people have started to throw around the b word. They argue that with bond yields at historic lows, income-starved investors have rushed recklessly into dividend stocks, pushing prices to dangerously high levels.

Some are even comparing it albeit loosely to the subprime bond crisis. Yikes!

Blue-chip dividend stocks are not subprime bonds. But theres an argument to make that, just as investors ran blindly into subprime bonds five years ago in search of yield, theyre running blindly, carelessly into dividend stocks today, Morgan Housel, a contributor to the Motley Fool investment website, wrote recently.

Its true that dividend stocks have become enormously popular with investors, and valuations in some cases may have become stretched. Price-to-earnings multiples for many classic dividend payers pipelines, utilities and real estate investment trusts, for example have jumped and yields have plunged to the lowest in years. Theres also been an explosion of dividend-oriented products particularly exchange-traded funds to meet the growing demand for income.

But its a gigantic leap to argue that we are therefore in a dividend bubble. Were not, and heres why.

First, lets define what a bubble is.

Most investment bubbles, or manias, share several characteristics. They are usually speculative in nature, meaning that investors buy with the expectation that they will be able to flip the asset for a large capital gain. Demand is often fuelled by leverage, which magnifies price increases, which in turn draws in more buyers.

As investors become increasingly euphoric, they ignore risks and throw traditional valuation methods out the window to justify the ascent in prices. There is often talk of a new era a feeling that prices will rise forever.

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Dividend stocks are buoyant, but not bubbling

Youve heard about housing bubbles, commodity bubbles and the Internet bubble.

Are we in the midst of a dividend bubble?

After the big runup in dividend stocks over the past couple of years, a few people have started to throw around the b word. They argue that with bond yields at historic lows, income-starved investors have rushed recklessly into dividend stocks, pushing prices to dangerously high levels.

Some are even comparing it albeit loosely to the subprime bond crisis. Yikes!

Blue-chip dividend stocks are not subprime bonds. But theres an argument to make that, just as investors ran blindly into subprime bonds five years ago in search of yield, theyre running blindly, carelessly into dividend stocks today, Morgan Housel, a contributor to the Motley Fool investment website, wrote recently.

Its true that dividend stocks have become enormously popular with investors, and valuations in some cases may have become stretched. Price-to-earnings multiples for many classic dividend payers pipelines, utilities and real estate investment trusts, for example have jumped and yields have plunged to the lowest in years. Theres also been an explosion of dividend-oriented products particularly exchange-traded funds to meet the growing demand for income.

But its a gigantic leap to argue that we are therefore in a dividend bubble. Were not, and heres why.

First, lets define what a bubble is.

Most investment bubbles, or manias, share several characteristics. They are usually speculative in nature, meaning that investors buy with the expectation that they will be able to flip the asset for a large capital gain. Demand is often fuelled by leverage, which magnifies price increases, which in turn draws in more buyers.

As investors become increasingly euphoric, they ignore risks and throw traditional valuation methods out the window to justify the ascent in prices. There is often talk of a new era a feeling that prices will rise forever.

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Dividend stocks are buoyant, but are they a bubble?