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Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn replaced the domestic rates. Each property is assigned one of eight bands in England and Scotland, or nine bands in Wales, based on property value, and the tax is set as a fixed amount for each band. The higher the band, the higher the tax. Some property is exempt from the tax, and some people are exempt from the tax, while some get a discount.
A property tax is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.
The Community Charge, commonly known as the poll tax, was a system of local taxation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government whereby each taxpayer was taxed the same fixed sum, with the precise amount being set by each local authority. It replaced domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. The abolition of the poll tax was announced in 1991 and it was replaced in 1993 by the current system of the Council Tax.
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role, like France's taxe d'habitation.
In the United Kingdom, taxation may involve payments to at least three different levels of government: central government, devolved governments and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, National Insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty. Local government revenues come primarily from grants from central government funds, business rates in England, Council Tax and increasingly from fees and charges such as those for on-street parking. In the fiscal year 2014–15, total government revenue was forecast to be £648 billion, or 37.7 per cent of GDP, with net taxes and National Insurance contributions standing at £606 billion.
The Valuation Office Agency is a government body in England and Wales. It is an executive agency of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Business rates in England, or non-domestic rates, are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property. Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was formalised with the Vagabonds Act 1572 and superseded by the Poor Relief Act 1601. The Local Government Finance Act 1988 introduced business rates in England and Wales from 1990, repealing its immediate predecessor, the General Rate Act 1967. The act also introduced business rates in Scotland but as an amendment to the existing system, which had evolved separately to that in the rest of Great Britain. Since the establishment in 1997 of a Welsh Assembly able to pass legislation, the English and Welsh systems have been able to diverge. In 2015, business rates for Wales were devolved.
Business rates is the commonly used name of Non-Domestic Rates in Scotland, a tax on occupation of non-domestic property. Rates are a property tax used to fund local services that dates back to the Poor Law.
The Lyons Inquiry was an independent inquiry into the form, function and funding of local government in England. Appointed jointly by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Deputy Prime Minister in the summer of 2004, Sir Michael Lyons produced several reports over the next 3 years, culminating in a final report on the future of local government published alongside the Chancellor's Budget in March 2007.
Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax, also known as a millage rate, as a principal source of revenue. This tax may be imposed on real estate or personal property. The tax is nearly always computed as the fair market value of the property, multiplied by an assessment ratio, multiplied by a tax rate, and is generally an obligation of the owner of the property. Values are determined by local officials, and may be disputed by property owners. For the taxing authority, one advantage of the property tax over the sales tax or income tax is that the revenue always equals the tax levy, unlike the other types of taxes. The property tax typically produces the required revenue for municipalities' tax levies. One disadvantage to the taxpayer is that the tax liability is fixed, while the taxpayer's income is not.
A property tax known as "rates" has been levied in Hong Kong since 1845. The tax applies to all domestic and commercial properties unless exempted, and is based upon the rental value of the property, re-assessed each year. Formerly part of the revenue went to the Urban Council and, from 1986, the Regional Council, but since 2000 the whole amount goes to the Hong Kong Government.
The local property tax (LPT) is annual self-assessed tax charged on the market value of all residential properties in Ireland. It came into effect on 1 July 2013 and is collected by the Revenue Commissioners. The tax is assessed on residential properties. The owner of a property is liable. The revenue raised is used to fund the provision of services by local authorities and includes transfers between local authorities.
Domestic rates are the local government taxation in Northern Ireland. Rates are a tax on property based on the capital value of the residential property on 1 January 2005. Domestic rates consist of two components, a regional rate set by the Northern Ireland Assembly and a district rate set by local councils. Rate levels are set annually. Valuation and rating of property is handled by Land and Property Services. Domestic rates are unique to Northern Ireland, in the rest of the United Kingdom the local taxation is Council Tax.
The Land Tax was a land value tax levied in England from 1692 to 1963, though such taxes predate the best-known 1692 Act. It was abolished by the Finance Act 1963. Taxes on land date back to the Norman Conquest and beyond, and the Land Tax introduced in 1692 was a natural successor to taxation acts in 1671 and 1689, but the 1692 act "has been regarded as a turning point in the history of English revenue collection. It was from this Act that contemporaries and historians alike date what has come to be known as the eighteenth-century Land Tax". The land tax elements of the 1671, 1689 and 1692 Acts were limited to one year but the 1798 Act made the tax perpetual.
The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 of New Zealand is an Act of New Zealand's Parliament that empowers Local Government bodies to levy property taxes on property owners within their jurisdictions. These property taxes are called rates. They are assessed annually and usually paid in four equal instalments.
Council Tax in Scotland is a tax on domestic property which was introduced across Scotland in 1993, along with England and Wales, following passage of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. It replaced the Community Charge. Each property is assigned one of eight bands based on property value, and the tax is set as a fixed amount for each band. Some properties are exempt from the tax, some people are exempt from the tax, while some get a discount.
References
- ↑ RF Williams v Scottish & Newcastle Retail Ltd (Valuation Officer) 15 Feb 2001 [2001] EWCA Civ 185, CA
- ↑ "Rates and valuations guide | the Royal Berkshire Archives".
- ↑ Alan Day, "Heseltine's hassle over the Rates", The Observer, 1 July 1979, p. 10.
- ↑ See National Records of Scotland
- ↑ "Scotland Land Registry Searches - What are the Land Register and the Sasine Register".
- ↑ "Registration Act 1617".
- ↑ "Searching for the owner of unregistered land - HM Land Registry". 5 February 2018.
- ↑ "Retail: Last year saw a big jump in the number of shops closing". BBC News. 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
- ↑ Dobson, Alban; Hull, Hubert (1931). The Land Drainage Act 1930. Oxford University Press. pp. ix–xiii.
- ↑ "Drainage Rate". Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- ↑ [1994] UKHL 3, [1994] 2 AC 310