Report on alternatives council tax to be published

The Commission on Local Tax Reform will outline its conclusions and recommendations in a report, ‘Just Change: A New Approach to Local Taxation’, on Monday 14 December.

The commission is expected to set out a range of possible alternatives to council tax, arguing that the prospect of reform is “an opportunity that must not be missed.”

The report will consider whether a range of different systems would be fairer, more efficient and how they could be implemented. 

It will not advocate a single preferred alternative to the present council tax system, but is expected to urge all parties to present their proposals for local taxation reform ahead of the 2016 election.

A programme of analysis to understand the relationships between property, land values and household incomes was used to inform the report, supported by public engagement to help understand attitudes towards the present system and the potential alternatives.

Writing in the introduction to the report, the co-chairs of the Commission, Marco Biagi MSP, Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment, and Councillor David O’Neill, President of COSLA, will say “we do not advocate a single preferred alternative as that ultimately must be a political choice, but we do expect that Scotland will be offered alternative systems of local taxation in the Scottish parliamentary election in May 2016.”

They will add: “Our intention is that this report serves to inform the design of those alternatives – by any political party – and most importantly, also helps the public understand the implications of the choices they are offered.”

The Commission on Local Tax Reform received nearly 5,000 pieces of evidence from a range of individuals and organisations, which included a formal written call for evidence, online questionnaire, oral evidence sessions and a series of public listening events held across Scotland.

It also looked at academic research into international examples of local taxation and analyses of responses received by members of the public to its online questionnaire and written call for evidence.