Council writes off £8m of poll tax debts

A LOCAL authority has scrapped £8 million of unpaid poll tax ahead of Scottish Government moves to stop authorities chasing the historic debt.

West Dunbartonshire Council, which collects about £25,000 a year of poll tax debt, said ministers planned to compensate councils in line with current collection rates.

Council leader Martin Rooney said: “The poll tax was widely acknowledged as an unjust taxation system. We support the Scottish Government’s promise to write off historic poll tax debt, but it also follows that it should fund this decision by reimbursing West Dunbartonshire for the loss of income.”

The poll tax, or community charge as it was officially known, was introduced in Scotland in 1989. It was hugely unpopular and abolished in 1993.