Scrap council tax
The Scottish Government cannot reform local government without fixing the broken council tax, Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer has said.
Ahead of the Scottish Greens’ conference in Inverness this weekend, Ross has challenged the SNP to back a fairer system of council funding if they want Green support for their proposed restructuring plans. He has warned that reform cannot succeed while councils remain stuck with a broken tax system.
Council tax is based on property valuations that have not been updated since 1991, meaning many poorer people pay more than their fair share while the wealthiest pay far less. The system was rushed in as a replacement for Thatcher’s hated Poll Tax and is now so out of date that a majority of households are likely paying the wrong rate.
The Scottish Greens have already secured reforms to the Council Tax, including higher rates for million-pound mansions, empty properties and holiday homes. These changes have raised hundreds of millions of pounds for vital local services, including schools and social care, while helping tackle housing shortages in rural and island communities.
But efforts by Green MSPs to overhaul property valuations and replace council tax entirely have previously been blocked by other parties.
Ross said:
“Our schools are desperately short of staff and our social care system is on its knees. That is the result of a completely broken funding model. Any reorganisation of councils needs to fix that, which means fixing the Council Tax.
“It’s a nonsense that most people are paying the wrong rate of tax because successive governments have refused to fix the system.
“The Council Tax is based on property values from 1991, making it a relic of the past that hits poorer people the hardest while letting the wealthiest off with an absolute steal.
“We’ve already shown that fairer taxes on holiday homes and empty homes can raise hundreds of millions for local services. But tweaking the edges of a broken system isn't enough. If the First Minister wants Green support for his plans, he needs to work with us to scrap and replace the Council Tax for good.
“Someone born when the SNP first promised to scrap Council Tax is now almost 20 years old. That’s not good enough.
“If the Scottish Government is serious about reforming councils then it needs to get serious about reforming how they are funded. We cannot keep reshuffling the structures but leave the same broken tax in place.”