Changes to the Council Tax

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The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Committee is considering the Scottish Government’s proposed changes to the Council Tax. We summarised these in an e-briefing earlier this month.

In this submission we set out in more detail our views on the planned changes.

The funding of local government has been a difficult issue for political parties. At best, proposals have been sticking plaster solutions because change is viewed as being politically challenging. However, we simply cannot go on as we are with short-term fixes that damage services and undermine local democratic accountability. We’ve had two inquiries into local taxation in less than ten years, it’s time to stop tinkering and act on the recommendations for a new fair property tax.