Warning from council chief
Finance boss highlights 2017 changes
A council finance chief is warning people to be aware of changes to council tax.
The Scottish Government announced last year that there would be an increase in the amount people in bands E to H properties pay.
As a result, householders of these more valuable houses will pay more from April this year.
Councillor Bob Burrows, who chairs the finance and customer services committee, said: “The Scottish Government proposes to increase what is called the multiplier for properties in Bands E to H.
“Councils set Band D council tax and every other band is a percentage of that figure. The Scottish Government changes mean that a Band E household in North Lanarkshire will pay £104 more in council tax in the next financial year, rising to £509 for Band H households.
“We need residents to understand the impact for them. I would stress that this was not a decision for the council, but has been decided on by the government.”
In the Scottish Government’s draft budget, it is proposed that – on top of these multiplier changes – councils have the power to increase council tax by up to three per cent.
Councillor Burrows added: “We have not yet decided what to do in terms of any council-agreed increase.
“We do know that the majority of people in last year’s major budget consultation said they would be willing to pay more council tax to fund local services, but we still have work to do on our budget before we make any decisions.
“Not only that, but the Scottish Parliament still has to approve the government’s draft budget and the council must have a chance to consider that before decisions are made.”
The Scottish Government proposes to amend the council tax multiplier for households in bands E to H. In North Lanarkshire that would mean Band E households (14,901 in North Lanarkshire) will pay an additional £104 per year; Band F (7988) will pay an additional £204 per year; Band G (2682) will pay an additional £330 per year; and Band H (121) will pay an additional £509 per year.
The Scottish Government have said that, to make the system fairer from April 2017, the rates paid by those in the four highest council tax bands (E,F, G and H) will be adjusted in a move that will generate £100 million a year.
The 75 per cent of Scottish households that live in bands A to D will be unaffected by this change to the council tax band system and a further 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes – more than one third of which are pensioner households – will be entitled to an exemption from the changes through the council tax reduction scheme.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said: “These reforms to council tax bands will mean no change for three out of every four Scottish households, with those in lower banded properties paying no more than they do now.
“Households will also still, on average, pay less than those on equivalent bands in England and less than they would be paying had the council tax freeze not been in place.”