We'll chase up tax debtors

Apr 4 2009 Paisley Daily Express

MILLIONS of pounds is still to be clawed back in council tax from tenants, homeowners, families living in social housing and businesses

And it has been revealed a massive £24million has not been paid by local businesses as collectors seek to get the money back.

Council tax provides a major chunk of the cash, which helps Renfrewshire Council foot the bill for road repairs, street lighting and refuse collections, has been recouped so far.

Renfrewshire Council has collected £50million in domestic rates so far, which represents almost 80 per cent of the total owed.

And, according to the council’s General Management and Finance Policy Boards report, this figure is up by 1.36 per cent on the previous financial year.

The annual tax bill for businesses wasn’t far behind with rates running up to more than £73 million in the 2008/09 financial year.

However, council chiefs have managed to collect just 68 per cent of the total owed by businesses throughout the region.

Councillors on Renfrewshire Council’s General Management Policy Board were told that 78 per cent of council taxes were recouped.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said its collection rates were amongst the highest in the country and debt collectors would continue to chase outstanding payments.

He said: “Our record on collecting tax remains among the best in Scotland. Renfrewshire outperforms the national average in council tax collection and is among the top performers in a group of nine councils with comparable populations.

“It’s encouraging that our collection of council tax is higher than at the equivalent stage of the previous financial year.

“As ever, we aim to strike a balance by pursuing those who deliberately choose not to pay while at the same time helping people in genuine difficulties through advice, debt management and payment options.

“It’s also worth pointing out that in the first six months of this financial year that £41,341 has been collected towards outstanding debt from the period of the community charge.”