Summary
This Report
'Local
Government Finance: Council Tax Benefit' (HC 718-I) says that the current
council tax relief system is unfair for low income households.
Attitudes towards the council tax are influenced by views as to its
fairness, with one of the concerns being that it does not take sufficient
account of a household’s income. Council Tax relief enables the liability of
some households to be reduced. Although it is not a benefit, it is called a
benefit and in many ways operates like a benefit. People only receive it if
they make a claim and as a result there is an estimates £1.8 billion unclaimed
each year.
The Committee believe that there are two main weaknesses in
the operation of the current system:
- Rules of eligibility are too
strict to reduce the burden to those in greatest need
- Take up is low.
In the Report, the Committee call on the Government to take urgent
action to tackle these problems.
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