New Consumer White Paper: Council Tax Implications

The new Government White Paper "Better Deal for Consumers" released on Thursday, and aimed at helping those in financial difficulty, has implications for Council Tax Collection:

"The Government wants to ensure that consumers in financial difficulty are treated with consideration by all their creditors. Council tax is rightly considered a priority debt and given precedence over other debts by people unable to pay all their debts when drawing up a repayment schedule. But local authorities recognise that some people will face real difficulties in meeting their obligations during the downturn. Council tax benefit is available for those on low incomes and we are keen that everyone entitled should claim it. Councils have discretion to agree a payment arrangement with any taxpayer to enable them to clear arrears. They can also, and frequently do, make such arrangements instead of pursuing formal enforcement measures."

There are also two further initiatives announced: "Council tax collection protocol" and a "Statement of good collection practice"

Full text of the white paper can be reached via a link on our Discussion Board or by clicking here. The relevant pages are 20-22.