Failure to reform council tax a ‘political humiliation’

A persistent failure to reform Scottish council tax is a “collective political humiliation”, the head of a leading think tank has said.

Chris Deerin, head of Enlighten, said with previous moves to reform the tax having come to nothing, it is time for “Smith Commission-style body” to step in to achieve a cross-party consensus on the issue.

Mr Deerin’s comments came in response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of Scottish council tax, which closes on Friday.

The consultation was launched last year with the aim of finding ways to reform a tax that “has not been fundamentally changed or updated since its introduction more than 30 years ago”.

In its submission, Enlighten said the tax is currently local “in name only” – with its operation, bands and reliefs all set centrally.

It called for local authorities to have the power to devise their own local tax systems – with full control over bands, rates and exemptions , to reflect their “differing circumstances and priorities”.

The body also said councils should be given more freedom to rely on their own revenue-raising streams, not just their block grant allocation.

Mr Deerin said: “How many times have we been here before? How many parties have promised to reform council tax but turned the other way when it’s time for action to match words?

“Such impotence can only negatively impact the public’s view of Holyrood and Scotland’s ability to deliver the long-term change our communities need.

“This persistent failure to deliver is now a collective political humiliation.

“It cannot go on. It’s time, now, for a Smith Commission-style body to agree on a reformed system of local taxation, which recognises local diversity, local autonomy and local responsibility.”

The Smith Commission – named after its chair Lord Smith of Kelvin – was set up following the No vote in the 2014 referendum, with the aim of reaching cross-party agreement on further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government is currently conducting a consultation to explore potential reforms to the council tax system.

“The aim of this work is to examine whether consensus around a unified position on council tax could be achieved, rather than advocating for a specific reform.

“Any future changes to council tax must be informed by robust evidence and wide public debate.

“As part of our joint programme of engagement with Cosla, we are seeking views on these matters.”