Council Tax

[LadyTiffany]

Does the law state that paying council tax is mandatory

[hc4361]

No, but you can be sent to prison if you don't

[LadyTiffany]

but how can one be sent to prison for not paying something that isn't against the law not to pay.

[EDDIE51]

^ You can be sent to prison for a civil offence. I know of a man who has been to prison several time for refusing to pay maintenance to his ex wife. ( he still refuses to pay)

[Bertrum]

Refuse to pay it and let us know how you get on

[hc4361]

You are breaking the law and can be sent to prison if you fail to pay after the court has ordered you to:
pay your council tax
pay maintenance to your ex and/or children
pay business rates
pay a court fine.

There are some types of debt attract a prison sentence. These include a fine from the magistrate’s court, maintenance payments for your spouse or children, council tax or business rates.

[Jackdaw33]

Where do you get the idea that payment is not mandatory?

[EDDIE51]

With a civil offence when you get out of prison you still owe the council tax or maintenance or whatever you were sent to prison for not paying.
In this it is unlike a fine for a criminal offence, when going to prison is in place of the fine, so time in jail 'pays off' the fine.
Another guy I know was sent to prison for driving while disqualified, he also owed about £500 in fines for other driving offences. The magistrate said he would 'lodge' the fines against the prison sentence. This meant that while he was doing time for driving while disqualified it was also paying off the other fines. He thought it was quite a bargain as he was out of jail in 3 weeks with his fines paid off!

[hc4361]

I think the OP is saying there is not a specific law such as s.1 Council Tax Act that states you must pay council tax.

There is no statute that prohibits murder, either.

[hc4361]

Shoot the pheasants, not the peasants is the golden rule, divebuddy. Of course murder is dealt with by common law, not statute law.

[New Judge]

Council tax is a statutory tax based on the occupation of domestic property levied by billing authorities, as required by the Local Government Finance Act (LGFA) 1992, on residents or owners of dwellings to raise funds to pay towards local authority services. Liability for council tax is determined by Section 6 of the LGFA 1992 which states that where a dwelling is occupied the council tax is payable by the resident based on a prescribed liability.

Basically, you have to pay it. You can be committed to prison if you do not and, unlike fines, the debt remains when you are released from prison. There are plenty of places you can look up the wording of the legislation.

You have to ask yourself that if your belief is true why has not somebody somewhere (perhaps a lawyer) discovered this by now. It seems you have been the victim of an "Old Wives' Tale".

[Peter Pedant]

like you know can you opt out of Council Tax ?
no

I mean people on the street dont pay council tax and people in Turkey dont have to pay english taxes so strictly speaking no it is not mandatory - oo and yeah that fella on the space station probably didnt either

but you have to keep the electoral roll up to date
there is a law for that
and council tax depends on that .... and yeah all the awful things stated above happen if you dont pay council tax.

if you are paying it and think you shouldnt
then you should follow the local council appeal track before taking further action

a little more detail Lady T may be useful

[Peter Pedant]

Hve I got this right ?

You havent paid council tax
and when you are summoned
your defence is gonna be
"I havent paid because I cant see the law that says I have to ...."
sort of
well good luck ...... and as above tell us how you get on....

[CrapAtCryptics]

I do as I like my bins emptied, streets relatively tidy etc etc

[ToraToraTora]

Yes.


pity the great unwashed didn't like the community charge, a much better system.

[hc4361]

I thought so, too, TTT.

[Peter Pedant]

// pity the great unwashed didn't like the community charge, a much better system. //

and funnily enough not paying it was made a crime when it was introduced ....as well a civil debt thing

[LadyTiffany]

Thank-you everyone. I do pay my council tax, it was just a debate I was having with someone.

[Peter Pedant]

The relevant act is
local government finance act
which is here
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/14/schedule/3


i have only wasted three minutes wondering if the act says you have to pay the tax ( o god - does a sheep have five legs ? or does the pope have to be a roman catholic ?) ..... and in schedule 3 we find...

"Where a penalty is imposed on a person under paragraph 1 or 2 above, and he alleges that there is no power in the case concerned to impose a penalty of the amount imposed, he may appeal under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) above against the imposition.
4Where a person is convicted of an offence, the conduct by reason of which he is convicted shall not also allow a penalty to be imposed under paragraph 1 or 2 above."
and so on and so on

thre are other schedules with catching ambiguous headings like
Enforcement in Scotland ....

which fully answers to me the very vexed question

do we have to pay council tax ?


if your discussion was
is not paying council tax a crime like not paying the Poll tax was ?
I think the answer is no as you dont get a magistrates summons like you used to with Poll tax ( having had one ) if you dont pay council tax