This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Consultation on local taxation
04/07/2005
The independent Local Government Finance Review
Committee today published a report summarising the results
of its recent public consultation.
The Committee, chaired by Sir Peter Burt, was set up by
the Executive to review different forms of local taxation,
including reform of the council tax. The consultation
document, launched in January this year, sought views on
all aspects of the Committee's wide-ranging remit.
It expects to report to Ministers in the summer of
2006.
After its launch in January, the Committee received
around 350 responses and around 290 were from members of
the public and approximately a third of these described
themselves as pensioners.
Other responses came from organisations and groups
including local authorities, citizen and welfare groups,
business organisations and political parties.
Sir Peter Burt said:
"The Committee has read every response with interest and
care. The comments received have been most valuable in
helping us to identify and prioritise issues that we need
to consider more closely before we produce our report.
"I am very grateful to the many people who took the time
to provide us with their thoughts. We shall be reviewing
the options and undertaking additional research with a view
to identifying both the key issues and what recommendations
we feel able to make Ministers next year."
As well as the 350 responses the Committee also received
around 450 postcards as part of a campaign organised by
Help the Aged in Scotland, and 13 copies of a petition with
just over 100 signatories in total.
Copies of the feedback report can be obtained by:
- emailing LGFRC@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
- writing to the Local Government Finance Review
Committee Secretariat, Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh,
EH6 6QQ
- telephoning 0131 244 1767
- accessing it on the Committee's website at
www.localgovernmentfinancereview.org
The Local Government Finance Review Committee was
established in June 2004.
Its remit is "to identify the pros and cons of
implementing any changes to the local taxation system in
Scotland, including the practicalities and the implications
for the rest of the local government finance system and any
wider economic impact, and to make recommendations."
Ministers have set out criteria against which the
Committee should consider different forms of local
taxation:
- Effect on the local economy/economic growth: in
broad terms the economic impact of different local
taxation systems will vary depending on what is being
taxed (e.g. property or people) and the spread of the
tax (e.g. whether set nationally or locally)
- Ability to pay/fairness: issues include both
fairness to individuals and fairness between local
authority areas
- Preventing avoidance/collectability: the local
taxation system should minimise the scope for avoiding
payment and consequently eases the task of collecting
the tax
- Stability/predictability: it is desirable that
individual taxpayers should have a reasonably firm idea
of their future tax commitments and that local
authorities should have a reasonable firm idea of how
much revenue the system is likely to generate
- Relationship to the Benefits System: The Council
Tax Benefit Scheme is very important part of the
current arrangements - would such a system be required
under a reformed or new taxation system?
- Buoyancy: the local taxation system should be
flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of economic
circumstances and the political will about the levels
of taxation
- The cost of collection: it is probable that some of
the possible local taxation systems will be more costly
to collect than others
- Who collects the tax?: some of the possible options
would require different forms of collection, for
example, local authorities or the Inland Revenue
- Shift to a new system/transitional arrangements:
looking at what practical steps would be required to
change the system, how quickly would that take or if
transitional arrangements would be required
- The Committee's members are: Sir Peter Burt
(Chair), Professor John Baillie, Peter Daniels and
Janet Lowe. It also has a specialist adviser, Kenneth
McKay
The Committee expects to report to Ministers in the
summer of 2006.