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Council Tax

Council Tax replaced the community charge ('poll tax') on 1 April 1993 as the way in which people make contributions towards the cost of local services.

The Council Tax is probably best understood as a mixture of a property tax and a personal tax. The Council Tax is levied on domestic dwellings, but the number of people and the type of people, who are living in the dwelling may have a crucial affect on the amount of tax to be paid and the question of who is liable to pay it.

The legal framework for the Council Tax is contained within the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The Act enables the appropriate Secretary of State to formulate legislation in the form of regulations that contain and amend details of the scheme. In practice, it is these regulations that govern the operation of Council Tax.

The guidance provided here is not intended to be an authoritative and detailed statement of the law relating to the Council Tax.


Related pages

Useful Weblinks - Links to our page showing some other useful websites


Attachments

PDF IconYour Council Tax 2010/11 - How your Council Tax is used to provide services in your area 
Adobe acrobat/PDF file

PDF IconYour Council Tax 2009/10
Adobe acrobat/PDF file