Councils to stop collecting the debt from 1 February
From February 1, 2015 the liability to pay ‘Poll Tax’ arrears in Scotland will end, subject to final approval of the Scottish Parliament later this month. John Swinney says Holyrood has acted ‘to right a historic wrong’.
The Scottish Government brought forward the bill to bring an end to collection of debts under the Community Charge, the discredited tax which was abolished in 1993 after four years in operation in Scotland.
The issue was brought to the fore following the independence referendum, amid reports that the expanded electoral registers could be used to identify and pursue Poll Tax debts at a time of record democratic engagement.
The amount of Poll Tax arrears collected by local authorities across Scotland has fallen in recent years to less than £350,000 in 2013-14, and some local authorities have ceased recovery of debts altogether. Nonetheless, the Scottish Government will cover the cost to local authorities of the Poll Tax debt that they would have expected to recover under existing arrangements.
This week parliament agreed to the general principles of the Bill and also approved a timescale that will see the Bill complete its parliamentary passage by 19 February.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “The Scottish Government has acted act expeditiously to address the use of information gathered from voter registration to pursue historical debts from a tax that is discredited and which has not been operational in Scotland for more than 20 years.
“The amount of Poll Tax arrears which have been collected by councils across Scotland has fallen to near negligible levels in recent years, from around £1.3 million in 2009-10 to less than £350,000 in the most recent financial year.
“We will ensure that local authorities are properly compensated in line with current collection rates in respect of outstanding amounts and ensure that they are not out of pocket.
“The poll tax is a defunct tax, but it has left a bitter legacy in Scotland – the Scottish Parliament has acted to right a historic wrong.”