Outstanding council tax owed rises to
New figures show that, by 31 March 2021, there is £4.4 billion of historic council tax outstanding in England, a rise of £841 million from 2021-20.
In 2021-21 local authorities collected a total of £32.2 billion in council tax, regardless of the entire year to which it related. This was a increase of £0.6 billion, or 1.9 percent, over 2021-20. This really is less than in the past years due to a combination of more support given to taxpayers through discounts and employ of local council tax support schemes because of the pandemic, that has reduced the amount because of be collected, along with a lower rate of collection.
At 31 March 2021, local authorities reported the quantity of non-domestic rates still outstanding amounted to £2.5 billion. This can be a cumulative figure and includes arrears that may stretch a long time. This is an increase of £1.1 billion within the figure for 2021-20. This is greater than in previous years because of the pandemic temporarily reducing or delaying recovery action during 2021-21.
The StepChange Debt Charity has warned that councils mustn't turn to aggressive tactics to recoup this debt and it has urged the federal government introducing legislation to prevent counterproductive bailiff action.
Adam Butler, Public Policy Manager at StepChange Debt Charity, said: “These stats underline the way the pandemic leaves many households facing increased financial difficulty. StepChange’s own research shows 4.3 million individuals are behind on household bills, with nearly two in five people affected by Covid falling behind on their own council tax.
“While councils possess a duty to pursue this unpaid tax, they likewise have an obligation to ensure methods are proportionate and consider an individual’s ability to repay. Too often, this responsibility isn't met, with councils still too quick to pass council tax debts to bailiffs. Because these arrears are recouped, councils need to ensure they don't fall back to old aggressive methods of collection, particularly for households with low incomes like those in receipt of council tax support.”
