No changes to council tax 'in this decade', says Scottish Government

THE Scottish Government has said there will not be changes made to council tax “in this decade”. 

Ministers won’t undertake a “revaluation” of Council Tax as there is not a “broad political consensus” in favour of one, a spokesperson for the government said. 

It comes after Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee told BBC Scotland that a revaluation of council tax bands in Scotland was “absolutely needed”.

McKee said plans were being worked on but there would be “winners and losers”.

Currently, council tax bands are based on property values from 1991, but since then house prices have surged.

Revaluation could see some homes put into more expensive bands, while others would see cuts in council tax bills.

However, the Scottish Government poured cold water on any imminent changes, and said its talks with Cosla, the local government body, were intended to “inform public debate”. 

McKee told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme that it was important to get “political consensus” in Holyrood.

“There's absolutely a need for revaluation, and plans for that are being worked on just now,” he said.

"That creates a lot of issues if people are changing the value of their property significantly in a very short period of time.

"That's going to impact how you do the transition."

Following the interview, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We will not undertake a Council Tax revaluation.

“Ministers believe any suggestion of a revaluation could only proceed if a broad political consensus in favour existed.

“They do not believe that consensus currently exists.

“Any changes to Council Tax must also be informed by robust evidence and wide public consultation.

“Our joint programme of engagement with Cosla on options for reform is intended to inform that public debate. 

“This process will run for a number of years. Ministers believe any plan for substantial reform thereafter, including any suggestion of revaluation, would require a mandate from a Scottish Parliament Election and that this will not be possible this decade.”

We previously told how analysis carried out by the Commission on Local Tax Reform suggested that over half of all properties in Scotland would have changed band if there had been a revaluation in 2014.

And, a budding MSP has drawn up draft legislation for replacing council tax and allowing local authorities to replace it with a property tax based on the real market value of homes.