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FINANCE

No consensus on replacement of 'unfair' council tax

Opinion is split on what should replace Scotland’s ‘unfair’ council tax system, new analysis has found.

Opinion is split on what should replace Scotland's ‘unfair' council tax system, new analysis has found.

Two-thirds of people responding to the Commission on Local Tax Reform said council tax was ‘regressive' and impacted negatively on vulnerable households. 

Most people also said there was a disconnect between local priorities and the way that local taxation operated.

However, there was no consensus on an alternative, with a reformed local property tax, local income tax and land value tax all being presented as options.

Respondents did say the efficiency and stability of the present system should be retained in any alternative system of local taxation.

Scottish local government minister Marco Biagi, who co-chairs the commission, said: ‘The findings of our formal call for evidence suggest very strongly that there are a majority of people in Scotland who agree that the current system of council tax is unfair and in need of reform.

‘However, what is also clear is that there are a wide range of opinions as to what a potential replacement for the present system would look like and operate, echoing many of the views that we have heard from the more than 4,000 people who have engaged with us so far.'

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