When were council tax bands last reviewed in Scotland?
Discussion
I was thinking about this this morning when putting my bin out.. fortnightly may I add.. not even weekly here in Aberdeenshire.. Anyway, as above, when were properties last reevaluated and alligned with the correct tax banding in Scotland? I've only been on the property market for 10 years or so, but never happened during this time.
I pay around £255 a month for my house which is around 8 years old, that's a band G. Now by its current value it's actually an H which is the top bracket. Now without wanting to do myself out of even more money, it should be realligned. Or more to the point, the bandings should be reviewed to be more realistic i.e. above £500k, £750K then again above £1M, £350k isn't craxy money for a house on the current market and I certainly wouldn't say I'm in the top bracket of wealth, it's all very out of date. What grates even more is I have a friend who bought a house for a lot more than mine, but since it's 40 years old he pays around £135 a month which is crazy.
I just don't see how the system is working right now. It has to either be based on the current value of your property, kind of meaningless in terms of the services required from the council, the number of people per house, more accurate or your income, but there is already a tax for that!
I appreciate this wouldn't be a popular review, but if they did it properly, it would maybe help those with cheaper housing. I hope this doesn't start a debate on the Thatcher days, I believe she tried to implement a fairer\different system, poll tax was it? Too young to remember.
I pay around £255 a month for my house which is around 8 years old, that's a band G. Now by its current value it's actually an H which is the top bracket. Now without wanting to do myself out of even more money, it should be realligned. Or more to the point, the bandings should be reviewed to be more realistic i.e. above £500k, £750K then again above £1M, £350k isn't craxy money for a house on the current market and I certainly wouldn't say I'm in the top bracket of wealth, it's all very out of date. What grates even more is I have a friend who bought a house for a lot more than mine, but since it's 40 years old he pays around £135 a month which is crazy.
I just don't see how the system is working right now. It has to either be based on the current value of your property, kind of meaningless in terms of the services required from the council, the number of people per house, more accurate or your income, but there is already a tax for that!
I appreciate this wouldn't be a popular review, but if they did it properly, it would maybe help those with cheaper housing. I hope this doesn't start a debate on the Thatcher days, I believe she tried to implement a fairer\different system, poll tax was it? Too young to remember.
Edited by scz4 on Monday 26th November 22:47
Council tax bands were set early-mid 90s and have never been adjusted. Even if they put higher value bands on top it would be more sensible but that would have been a vote-loser for the Tories.
To me it would have made sense to base council tax on what a current owner paid for the property instead of some drive-by valuation that bears no relation to either purchase price or current value. A policy like that would take some of the heat out of the housing market while encouraging owners to improve their current home.
On a related note, I went through my council tax bills and discovered that from 1998/9 to 2007/8 my tax on this house increased from £127 to £220 per month - that's a 73% increase in 9 years, an average of 8.14% pa.
Since then it has crept up just £4 to £224 due, I think, to increased water charges. I don't care if the council tax freeze has benefited better-off people more than those at the bottom of the scale, but the policy has benefited me because if it kept going up at the same average rate as before I reckon I'd be paying £315 now!
To me it would have made sense to base council tax on what a current owner paid for the property instead of some drive-by valuation that bears no relation to either purchase price or current value. A policy like that would take some of the heat out of the housing market while encouraging owners to improve their current home.
On a related note, I went through my council tax bills and discovered that from 1998/9 to 2007/8 my tax on this house increased from £127 to £220 per month - that's a 73% increase in 9 years, an average of 8.14% pa.
Since then it has crept up just £4 to £224 due, I think, to increased water charges. I don't care if the council tax freeze has benefited better-off people more than those at the bottom of the scale, but the policy has benefited me because if it kept going up at the same average rate as before I reckon I'd be paying £315 now!
GoneAnon said:
To me it would have made sense to base council tax on what a current owner paid for the property instead of some drive-by valuation that bears no relation to either purchase price or current value.
No it wouldn't. If two next door identical properties sold ten years apart for very different sums, why should the owners pay different amounts for the Council to empty their bins and light their streets?Revaluation is only needed where property values have shifted relative to others - if all houses doubled in value, there would no need to reband any of them otherwise.
Slartifartfast said:
No it wouldn't. If two next door identical properties sold ten years apart for very different sums, why should the owners pay different amounts for the Council to empty their bins and light their streets?
Revaluation is only needed where property values have shifted relative to others - if all houses doubled in value, there would no need to reband any of them otherwise.
But what about two house worth the same value, but one is 5 years old and the other 25, "why should the owners pay different amounts for the Council to empty their bins and light their streets?"Revaluation is only needed where property values have shifted relative to others - if all houses doubled in value, there would no need to reband any of them otherwise.
It's very hard to find a system that works and is fair, probably why the council haven't bothered.
I recently moved to fife and decided to check what the council banding was and discovered my next door neighbours house which was on the market for the same price as I paid for mine was 2 groups lower. Their house is a fair bit smaller than mine but mine needed a lot of renovation work carried out.
I contacted the council who sent somebody round and did some measurements to revalue the house. They got back to me this week informing me they are dropping mine one band, saving me £300 a year
You can only raise an issue with the banding within 6 months of moving in though!
I contacted the council who sent somebody round and did some measurements to revalue the house. They got back to me this week informing me they are dropping mine one band, saving me £300 a year
You can only raise an issue with the banding within 6 months of moving in though!
I moved from a modern 4 bed house built circa 2004 to a much bigger less environmentally friendly 6 bedroom Georgian property and my council tax dropped £500 a year.
It isn't fair it doesn't reflect how much each house uses the 'services' available to them but for the meantime it works out well for me.
I imagine a re-evaluation to a scale more in keeping with todays prices would see a huge drop in income to the councils from newer properties. Therefore very little inclination to propose it?
It isn't fair it doesn't reflect how much each house uses the 'services' available to them but for the meantime it works out well for me.
I imagine a re-evaluation to a scale more in keeping with todays prices would see a huge drop in income to the councils from newer properties. Therefore very little inclination to propose it?
chunkymonkey71 said:
I know this will just upset you all but the good thing about living in a crap area (with a student for a partner) is that my council tax works out at £52 a month!!!
Yes, I'd rather live in a damp bed sit and pay only £52 a month rather than £200 for a 4 bedroom house...Edited by chunkymonkey71 on Tuesday 27th November 11:31
I bought my current house nearly 16 years ago. I think it's still rates as a D band, so pay £100 odd. I have in that time built an extension which has added 50%+ more space to my house. I was told that it would only be rebanded if i sold it. Value over 3 times original purchase price and still the same council tax.... result.
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