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Footnotes
1 Scottish Executive, Council Tax Datasets
2 Scottish Executive, Transforming Public Services (2006)
3 Scottish Executive, A Partnership for a Better Scotland: Partnership Agreement (2003)
4 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 16 June 2004
5 Scottish Parliament, Written Answer S2W-9478, 30 June 2004
6 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
7 The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Scottish Branch)
8 All councils that submitted written responses to our consultation were invited to give oral evidence
9 The Scottish Conservative Party, Scottish Green Party, Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Scottish Socialist Party
10 The Committee commissioned Professor Arthur Midwinter to produce a paper describing the history of local government finance in Scotland. This section provides a summarised history. This is almost entirely drawn from Professor Midwinter's paper, which is available on our website
11 Boyle, Equalisation and the Future of Local Government Finance (1966)
12 McConnell, The Politics and Policy of Local Taxation in Britain (1999)
13 ibid
14 Midwinter, A Return to the Ratepayer Democracy? The Reform of Local Government Finance in Historical Perspective, Scottish Economic and Social History, Vol.10 (1990)
15 Boyle, ibid
16 Midwinter, ibid
17 McConnell, ibid
18 Webb, Grants-in-Aid (1920)
19 Foster, Jackman and Perlman, Local Government Finance in a Unitary State,(1980); figures quoted are nominal.
20 Boyle, ibid
21 Local Government Chronicle (23rd March 1963)
22 McConnell, ibid
23 Richards, The Recent History of Local Fiscal Reform, in Paddison & Bailey (eds) "The Reform of Local Government Finance in Britain" (1988)
24 Bennett, Central Grants to Local Authorities (1982)
25 Jones and Stewart, Central-Local Relations Since the Layfield Report, Local Government Studies, Vol.28, No.3 (2002)
26 The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
27 Accounts Commission, T he Community Charge in Scotland: The First Year in Operation (1991)
28 Gibson, The Politics and Economics of the Poll Tax - Mrs. Thatcher's Downfall (1990)
29 Midwinter and Monaghan, The New Centralism: Local Government Finance in the 1990s, Financial Accountability and Management, Vol.11, No.2 (1995)
30 Midwinter and McGarvey, The Reformed System of Local Government Finance in Scotland, Policy and Politics, Vol.25, No.2 (1997)
31 Midwinter and McGarvey, ibid
32 Midwinter, The Fiscal Crisis in Scottish Local Government, Local Governance, Vol.24, No.1 (1998)
33 Midwinter, ibid
34 The Scottish Office, Scotland's Parliament, Cm 3658 (1997)
35 General Register Office for Scotland, Mid-2005 Population Estimates Scotland.
36 HM Treasury, Budget 2006, Table C8 (2006); excludes North Sea revenues.
37 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05, Table 3 (2006): this figure excludes housing and other services which are funded separately, and also capital expenditure.
38 Scottish Executive, Finance Circular 1/2006 (2006)
39 Scottish Executive, Draft Budget 2007-08: Final Review on Spending Review 2002 Targets (2002)
40 Scottish Executive, Finance Circular 2/2005 (2005)
41 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05, Table 2A (2006)
42 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05, Table 2A (2006)
43 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05, Table 11 (2006); also Scottish Executive Finance Circulars 2/2004 & 2/2005
44 IMF, Government Finance Statistics 2006, data for latest available year, ranging from 2001-04 except for Ireland which relates to 1997
45 Scottish Constitutional Convention, Scotland's Parliament. Scotland's Right (1995)
46 Elliot, The Rule of Law and Central-Local Relations, ESRC (1981)
47 ibid
48 Midwinter and Mair, Rates Reform: Issues, Arguments and Evidence (1987)
49 House of Commons Public Administration Committee, Fifth Report 2005-06, Minutes of Oral Evidence (17 November 2005)
50 See J. McFadden, Local Government Law in Scotland (2004)
51 Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, section 16
52 ibid, section 15
53 European Charter of Local Self Government (1985)
54 Notably the 1997 White Paper, Scotland's Parliament, and the 2001 Partnership Framework document, The Executive and Local Government Working in Partnership
55 ibid, Article 4
56 ibid, Article 9.3
57 ibid, Article 9.5
58 ibid, Article 9.6
59 Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament, Moving Forward Local Government and the Scottish Parliament (1999)
60 Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government, Cmnd 4150 (1969)
61 Report on the Committee of Inquiry into the Conduct of Local Authority Business, Cmnd 9747 (1986)
62 ibid
63 Scottish Executive, Transforming Public Services (2006)
64 MORI Scotland, Public Attitudes Towards Local Taxation (2006)
65 Martin, The Implications of Local Devolution for Effectiveness and Efficiency in Service Delivery, Centre for Local and Regional Government Research, Cardiff University (2005)
66 Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, Consultation Paper & Interim Report (2005)
67 Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement (2006)
68 Letter from Rory Mair, Chief Executive of COSLA, dated 28 February 2006.
69 COSLA & Scottish Executive, The Partnership Framework: The Executive and Local Government Working in Partnership (2001)
70 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, Report of Inquiry into Local Government Finance, 6th Report (2002)
71 Scottish Executive, ibid
72 Layfield (Chairman), Local Government Finance: Report of the Committee of Enquiry, Cmnd 6453 (1976), para 5.1
73 HM Treasury, Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005, Tables 1.1 & 6.1. It is estimated that in 2005-06 local authorities will have spent £135.6bn out of £518.6bn total managed expenditure.
74 ibid
75 Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament, Moving Forward Local Government and the Scottish Parliament (1999)
76 Councillor John Morrison, Oral Evidence by the Scottish Liberal Democrats
77 Steel, Moving to Federalism - A New Settlement for Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats (2006)
78 European Charter of Local Self Government, Article 9.3 (1985)
79 Notably the 1997 White Paper Scotland's Parliament and the 2001 Partnership Framework document The Executive and Local Government Working in Partnership.
80 HM Treasury, Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs (2005)
81 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05 (2006); Scottish Executive, Finance Circular No. 2/2004
82 ibid
82 Balance of Funding Report, para 1.29
83 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, Report on the Inquiry into Local Government Finance (2002), para 32
84 See Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, Report on the Inquiry into Local Government Finance (2002), para 16
85 i.e. Research report Balance of Funding and Turnout by the University of Plymouth and focus group research by NOP World - see paras 1.26 and 1.27 of the Report of the Balance of Funding Review (2004)
86 See Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ( ODPM), Report of the Balance of Funding Review (2004), para 1.25
87 Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, Consultation Paper & Interim Report (2005), para 2.51
88 Although it is though worth noting that research conducted for ODPM's Balance of Funding Review concluded that available evidence in England demonstrated only a weak relationship between a highly geared balance of funding and efficiency there (ibid, para 1.28)
89 International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics 2006: Data applies to latest available year, ranging from 2001-04 except for Ireland which relates to 1997.
90 ODPM, ibid, Annex C
91 ibid, para 4.16
92 ibid
93 ibid, paras 2.88 to .2.90
94 See, e.g., Daily Telegraph, Alarm at Return to Local Business Rates (9 May 2006)
95 Denny, Hall and Smith, Options for Business Rate Reform, Institute for Fiscal Studies (1995)
96 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, ibid, paras 54-55
97 See section 3.4.1
98 See figures 2 & 3
99 CBI Scotland made a similar point in their submission to us.
100 See Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05, Table 2A
101 e.g. from Help the Aged, Citizens Advice Scotland
102 See oral evidence from COSLA.
103 See figure 2 - 15% of those dissatisfied with Council Tax cited "Too many people don't pay, so the rest of us have to pay more" as a reason (unprompted) for dissatisfaction.
104 See para 3.4.3
105 See report, paras 2.15-2.16.
106 Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development ( OECD), Tax Administration in OECD Countries: Comparative Information Series (2004), Table 16
107 Joumard & Konigsrud, Fiscal Relations Across Government Levels,OECD Economic Studies No. 36 (2003), Figure 4
108 The Scottish Rural Property and Business Association
109 A trade union representing people who work in public services
110 Para 81
111 HMRC, Tax Receipts and Taxpayers ( http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf)
112 Among tax professionals, the terms "tax avoidance" and "tax evasion" are distinct. "Tax avoidance" is the act of using devices allowed under tax law to minimise tax liability. "Tax evasion" involves unlawful means to reduce or escape from tax liability.
113 HMRC data
114 Figures based on HMRC's tax and benefit model ( IGOTM) using the Family Resources Survey 2003-04. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand. Particularly small sample sizes are highlighted (*).
115 Report, para 71
116 Joumard and Kongrud, ibid
117 Scottish Executive, Scotland's People: Results from the 2005 Scottish Household Survey Annual Report (2006)
118 Including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
119 OECD, Tax and the Economy: A Comparative Assessment of OECD Countries (2001)
120 Loughlin & Martin, International Lessons on Balance of Funding Issues, Cardiff University for the ODPM Balance of Funding Inquiry (2003)
121 Joumard & Kongsrud, Fiscal Relations Across Government Levels,OECD Economic Journal No.36 (2003)
122 Joumard, Tax Systems in European Union Countries, OECD Economic Studies No.34 (2002)
123 OECD, Tax and the Economy: A Comparative Assessment of OECD Countries (2001)
124 Heady, The Truth About Tax Burdens, OECD Observer (2002)
125 Report, para 3.9
126 Scottish Parliament Official Report, Meeting of 8 January 2002, column 2584
127 Muellbauer & Murphy, Booms and Busts in the UK Housing Market, The Economic Journal (1997, updated 2003)
128 Rosenthal, House Prices and Local Taxes in the UK, Fiscal Studies (1999)
129 Meen, Ten Propositions in UK Housing Econometrics: An Overview of the 1980s and Early 1990s, Urban Studies (1996)
130 Report, para 3.10
131 e.g. the Scottish Green Party
132 Economic and Social Research Council and Help the Aged, Quality of Life in Older Age (2004)
133 Gibb, The Council Tax: The Distributional Implications of Returning to a Tax on Property, Scottish Journal of Political Economy (August 1992)
134 Sawkins & Dickie, Council Tax in Scotland: The Economic Case for Reform (2002)
135 e.g. Gibbons & Machin, Paying for Primary Schools: Admission Constraints, School Popularity or Congestion, Economic Journal (2006)
137 General Register Office for Scotland, Household Projections for Scotland: 2004-Based (2006)
138 ibid
139 Joumard and Konigsrud, ibid
140 NERA Economic Consulting, Options for Reforming Local Government Funding: A Report for the Lyons Inquiry Study Team (2005)
141 Owens and Panella (eds), Financing Local Government in OECD Countries: The Role of Local Taxes and User Charges in Local Government: An International Perspective, Chapter 4 by Bird and Slack (1991)
142 General Register Office for Scotland, Mid-2005 Population Estimates Scotland (2006)
143 £1.96 billion in 2004-05 (Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05 (2006))
144 Joumard & Konigsrud, Fiscal Relations Across Government Levels,OECD Economic Studies No. 36 (2003), Figure 4
145 Typically 25-40%, and around 50% for USA.
146 Nil for Australia and less than 10% for Canada and Germany; but 20-30% for Austria and USA.
147 Other than to a very small degree in Norway
148 e.g. Paris (http://en.parisinfo.com/guide_paris/rub5971.html)
149 The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers
150 The Scottish Rural Property & Business Association
151 The Scottish Retail Consortium
152 The Confederation of British Industry in Scotland
153 See Figure 1
154 Directive 77/388/ EEC
155 Hall and Smith, Local Sales Taxation: An Assessment of the Feasibility and Likely Effects of Sales Taxation at the Local Level in the UK, Institute of Fiscal Studies (1995)
156 NERA Economic Consulting, Options for Reforming Local Government Funding: A Report for the Lyons Inquiry Study Team (2005)
157 NERA Economic Consulting, ibid
158 ibid
159 These VAT estimates are unpolished data, based on household expenditure and household and population estimates from Office for National Statistics publications. They do not represent the amount of VAT received from businesses registered with Scottish VAT offices or received from businesses trading in Scotland.
160 VAT receipts are calculated as a percentage of the UK total (source for Scottish percentage: Scottish Executive, Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland); converted into real terms using the HMT deflator.
161 Scottish Executive, Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-04 (2005)
162 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2003-04 (2005)
163 ibid
164 BoF(19): Reviewing the Case for a Local Income Tax (2004)
165 Scottish Executive, Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-2004, 2005
166 HMRC, National Statistics Review, Table 2.6, Updated April 2006
167 HMRC, National Statistics Review, Table 2.2, Updated April 2006
168 HM Treasury, Tax Ready Reckoner & Tax Reliefs (2003)
169 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Statistics 2004-05 (2006); figure is gross of Council Tax Benefit
170 The Scottish Office, Scotland's Parliament (Cm 3658) (1997)
171 Scottish Constitutional Convention, Scotland's Parliament: Scotland's Right (1995)
172 Heald and Geaughan, The Tartan Tax: Devolved Variation in Income Tax Rates, British Tax Review (1997, No.5)
173 HMRC, Personal Income by Tax Year 2003-04, Table 3.13 (2006)
174 BoF(19) (2004)
175 The Scottish Office, Scotland's Parliament, Cm 3658 (1997)
176 Evidence by Professor Stephen Smith, Inquiry into Local Government Finance, para 72 (2002)
177 Isaac, Local Income Tax: A Study of the Options (1992)
178 ibid, BoF(19) and BoF(25)
179 House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Filing of Income Tax Self Assessment Returns, 23rd Report of Session 2005-06 (2006)
180 Inland Revenue, Annex to Press Release 18/98 (February 1998)
181 HMRC, Personal Income by Tax Year 2003-04, Tables 3.6 & 3.13 (2006); for comparison, the total number of taxpayers receiving employment income = 22.0 million in the UK and 2.0 million in Scotland.
182 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, Official Report - Meeting No.1, 2002 (2002)
183 ibid
184 ibid
185 BoF(25)
186 The Scottish Office, Scotland's Parliament, Cm 3658 (1997)
187 BoF(19): Reviewing the Case for a Local Income Tax (2004)
188 BoF(25) (2004)
189 Kay and King, The British Tax System (1990)
190 Bakija and Slemrod, Do the Rich Flee from High State Taxes? (2004)
191 e.g. Koester and Kormendi, Taxation, Aggregate Activity and Economic Growth: Cross Country Evidence on Some Supply side Hypotheses (1989); Padovano and Galli, Tax Rates and Economic Growth in the OECD Countries (2001); Karabegovic, Veldhuis, Clemens and Godin, Do Tax Rates Matter?, Fraser of Allander Institute (2004)
192 Carroll, Holtz-Eakin, Rider and Rosen, Entrepreneurs, Income Taxes and Investment, in Slemrod (ed) "Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich" (2000)
193 BoF(25)
194 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05 (2006)
195 HMRC, Tax Receipts and Taxpayers ( http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf)
196 Craig, Land Value Taxes and Wilmington, Delaware: A Case Study, National Taxation (2003)
197 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, Report on Inquiry into Local Government Finance, para 69, 2002
197 SSI No. 2005/51
198 Workings and assumptions set out in Annex A
199 Oxfordshire County Council & Vale of White Horse District Council, The Oxfordshire Land Value Tax Study (2005)
200 e.g. Connellan, Land Value Taxation in Britain: Experiences & Opportunities (2004)
201 Vickers, A Blueprint for Smart Tax in Britain, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (2003)
201 See Figure 1 and Table 1
202 Scottish Executive, Council Tax Data
203 See section 3.3.2
204 Orton, Struggling to Pay Council Tax: A New Perspective on the Debate About Local Taxation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2006)
205 Provided by University of Stirling using data from Family Resources Survey 2003-04. Figures should be read as indicative only.
206 Statistics based on Department of Work and Pensions data for May 2004
207 Audit Scotland, Statutory Performance Indicators: Council Profiles 2004-05
208 Audit Scotland, Corporate Management Performance Indicators 2003-04: Comparing the Performance of Scottish Councils (2005)
209 Scottish Executive, Improving Council Tax Collection Rates in Scotland, by Bramley, Karley, Rutherford & Wager, Heriot Watt University (2006)
210 Audit Scotland, Statutory Performance Indicators: Council Profiles 2004-05
211 Audit Scotland, ibid: The performance indicator they use combines Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit applications.
212 CIPFA in Scotland, Rating Review Estimates of Income and Expenditure.
213 Audit Scotland, ibid: The performance indicator they use combines Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit applications.
214 Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee, 6th Report 2002: Report of Inquiry into Local Government Finance, para 50
215 Lyons, Interim Report and Consultation Paper, paras 2.76-2.77 (2005)
216 There is an exception in the bottom decile for the "income" experiment, because of the number of houses in high council tax bands occupied by low income households and because a proportion of these households are not eligible for council tax benefit.
217 Typical council tax bills are derived from Scotland-average band D bill of £1,129 in 2006-07 (source: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/DataCTLevelbyBand2006-07)
218 See Muellbauer and Cameron, ibid
219 General Registers Office for Scotland, Household Projections for Scotland: 2004-Based (2006)
220 General Registers Office for Scotland, Census (2001)
221 DWP, Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit Quarterly Summary Statistics (updated Feb. 2006)
222 DWP, Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit Quarterly Summary Statistics (updated Feb. 2006)
223 DWP. Small numbers of households in Band G also receive.
224 DWP.
225 Lyons, Interim Report and Consultation Paper (2005), para 2.78
226 DWP, Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up in 2003-04 (2006)
227 DWP, Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit Quarterly Summary Statistics (Feb. 2004)
228 DWP, Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up in 2003-04 (2006)
229 DWP, Pension Credit Estimates of Take-Up 2004-05 (2006)
230 DWP, Understanding the Relationship Between the Barriers and Triggers to Claiming Pension Credit, by Bunt, Adams and Leo, IFF Research Ltd, DWP Research Report 336 (2006)
231 Accounts Commission, Performance Indicators 2004-05 ( http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/documents/2005profiles/servicespdf/BA.pdf)
232 DWP, Family Resources Survey 2004-05 (2006). Figures are shown as a proportion of each income band.
234 In addition, no upper capital limit applies to those households receiving PC( GC), who are automatically eligible to receive full Council Tax Benefit (les any deductions for non-dependent members of the household).
235 House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers 64354 & 64355, 24 April 2006
236 New Policy Institute, The Impact of Council Tax on Older People's Income (2003)
237 Para 10.41
238 Help the Aged in Scotland, Council Tax: A Path to Poverty? (2005)
239 The Sunday Times (July 2006)
240 Scottish Conservatives, Annabel Goldie at the Conservative Conference in Bournemouth, Press Release (October 2006)
241 Pensions Analysis Directorate, The Pensioners' Incomes Series 2004-05, based on data from the Family Resources Survey (2006). Results are based on equivalised income. Pensioners are defined as those adults in pensioner units where the head is over state pension age (including those below state pension age but living with a person over state pension age).
242 Sample data compiled by the University of Stirling from the Family Resources Survey
243 Sample data compiled by the University of Stirling from the Family Resources Survey
244 Census (2001). In total, 31% of households in Scotland in 2001 either comprised or included pensioners Of these, 15 percentage points were single pensioner households and 8 percentage points were pensioner-only households with 2 or more people.
245 Government Actuary's Department, Projected Population of Scotland (2004-Based) (2005)
246 Scottish Parliament Local Government and Finance Committee, Paper LGT/S2/05/22/12: Council Tax and Older People - Evidence from Age Concern Scotland (2005)
247 Office for National Statistics, Focus on Consumer Price Indices February 2006 (2006)
248 Scottish Executive ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/DatasetsCouncilTax); Comparison of figures for 1996-97 and 2005-06.
249 HM Treasury, Budget 2006: Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, Chart 5.3 (2006)
250 ibid
251 Orton, Struggling to Pay Council Tax: A New Perspective on the Debate About Local Taxation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2006); the study defines low/modest incomes as incomes below median weekly gross household income.
252 ibid, page 13
253 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Attitudes to Inheritance in Britain, 2005
254 Age Concern, Silver Surge of Interest in Equity Release, Press Release (July 2006)
255 For the purposes of assessing eligibility to Pension Credit, the Pensions Service converts savings over £6,000 into assumed income at the rate of £1 a week for every £500 or part of £500 of savings.
256 Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05, Tables S3, S4 & 11
257 Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05, Table S4
258 Scottish Executive, Non Domestic Rates Revaluation 2006-07 Transitional Arrangements, 2006
259 Scottish Executive, calculated using local authority returns CTAS and CTAXBASE ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16945/CouncilTax).
260 Scottish Executive, Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-04 (2005)
261 Based on an average UK household tax payment of £11,250 (source: Office for National Statistics, Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income 2004-05) and average council tax per dwelling in 2004-05 of £887 in Scotland and £967 in England (sources: Scottish Executive and ODPM)
262 Barker, Delivering Stability: Securing our Future Housing Needs,HM Treasury (2004)
263 Hansard, Written Answers, Questions 69714 & 69716 (10 May 2006)
264 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 6 September 2005
265 DTZ Pieda Consulting, Evaluation of the Impact and Effectiveness of the Small Business Rates Relief Scheme (2004)
266 e.g. Bond, Denny, Hall and McCluskey, Who Pays Business Rates, Fiscal Studies (1996); Institute of Fiscal Studies, The Relationship Between Rent and Rates: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Non-Domestic Rates and Commercial Rents, for the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1995)
267 Scottish Executive, Business Improvement Districts - A Consultation Paper (2003)
268 See http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/BIDPilotprojects
269 Maxwell and Vigor (eds), Time for Land Value Tax? (2005).
270 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05, Table 2A (2006)
271 Income figures for each category are taken from Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2004-05, Table 4A (2006)
272 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics
273 The most frequently mentioned reasons were that council tax is too expensive (mentioned by 54% of respondents) and that it takes insufficient account of ability to pay (31%).
274 Section 22(8) of the Act allows local authorities to impose reasonable charges for any action undertaken by the authority to promote or improve the well-being of an area and/or people in that area.
275 NERA Economic Consulting, Options for Reforming Local Government Funding: A Report for the Lyons Inquiry Study Team (2005)
276 Scottish Executive, Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2004-05 (2006)
277 See http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/3_13_apr06.PDF
278 Band D figures from Water Industry Commission for Scotland, The Strategic Review of Charges 2006-10: The Final Determination (2005)
279 Scottish Executive, I mproving Council Tax Collection Rates in Scotland, by Bramley, Karley, Rutherford & Wager, Heriot Watt University (2006)
280 Scottish Executive, The Principles to be Applied in Charging for Public Water and Sewerage Services in Scotland 2006-2010: Statement by the Scottish Executive (2005)
281 Currently the Water Services Charges (Billing and Collection) (Scotland) Order 2006
282 The lower end of this range assumes collection performance improving to a level currently being achieved in England and Wales; while the higher end of this range assumes collection performance as at today's rate.
283 Scottish Executive, ibid
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