ABSTRACT
The Council Tax was proposed in a Government consultation paper, a New Tax for Local Government, in April 1991. The Council Tax uses very broad bands of capital value. In some situations the billing authority can find difficulties in ensuring the tax is collected or would find it easier if the owner was liable for the Council Tax. Billing authorities have the power to increase Council Tax on dwellings that have been ‘unoccupied and substantially unfurnished’ for a long period of time. While specific values are not assigned to each dwelling for Council Tax, the legislation sets out a series of valuation assumptions to enable a decision to be reached on the valuation band for a property. The Local Government Act 2003 provided for a transitional relief scheme to smooth the changes in Council Tax liability resulting from the coming into force of a revaluation.
