Rennie leads opposition debate on biggest ever council tax hikes

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie has today led a parliamentary debate highlighting SNP/Green plans for the biggest council tax hikes ever, with 1 in 4 Scottish households hit by additional council tax rises on top of any yearly increase.

In his speech, Mr Rennie highlighted analysis from Oxfam showing that more than a third of the homes occupied by the richest 10 per cent of people are in bands A-D. This means people with some of the highest incomes in Scotland pay the least in Council Tax, a fact that will be completely unaddressed under the Scottish Government’s proposals. 

A Scottish Government consultation on changes to council tax rates will conclude on Wednesday 20th September.  

Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis of the government’s proposals has previously revealed:

• 715,312 households will see council tax rises ranging from £124 to £835. Scotland currently has 2,562,357 chargeable dwellings. This means 28% of households will be hit by an additional council tax rise on top of any yearly increase.
• 354,197 households in Band E properties will see rises of between £124 and £150.
• 211,243 households in Band F will see rises of between £256 and £308.
• 135,840 households in Band G will see rises of between £432 and £519.
• 14,032 households in Band H will see rises of between £694 and £835.

Speaking in the debate, Willie Rennie said:

“I agreed with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon when they declared the council tax unfair.

“It is based on property valuations undertaken in 1991 – a system that relies on three decade-old property valuations can no longer be accepted.

“More than a third of the homes occupied by the richest 10 per cent of people are in bands A-D. So, people with some of the highest incomes in Scotland pay the least in Council Tax.

“In contrast, while higher income households are more likely to live in bands E-H, a sizeable share of lower income households also live in these homes. This means that a number of lower income people are paying some of the highest Council Tax bills.

“With the outdated valuation and its crude targeting of wealth and income the system continues to be as unfair and as outdated as it was in 2007.

“The Scottish Government need to scrap these hikes and deliver the reform that was promised 16 years ago.”