𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

More than 4.5 million households have failed to pay their council tax in full, new data showed. And £4.6 billion in unpaid tax is owed to local authorities. But people in some parts of the country owe more than others. It means 1.4 million people are taken to court each year by councils trying to get the money they are owed.

The shocking figures were revealed by authorities in response to Freedom of Information requests from the union GMB. It warned that the current system meant lower pay for council workers as cash-strapped councils struggled to find services. Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “These horrifying figures show our council tax system is completely broken.”

Ms Harrison said: “Not only is the banding system woefully out of date, but forcing cash-strapped councils to pursue half a million people through the courts just to make ends meet can’t be the right way to do business.

“Austerity left deep scars on all our public services, which will last a generation or more.

“Meanwhile, the lack of authority funding often means low pay for the people we rely on to look after our loved ones, to take our rubbish, to keep our towns and cities running.

“To fix all this, we need more guaranteed central Government funding, progress on council tax reform so the richest pay their share and changes to Business Rates so that authorities get more to regenerate our high streets.”

Responses from around 200 councils showed 1,430,726 people were summoned to court in the financial year 2024/25 – although as many councils didn’t answer, the true number is likely to be far higher.

The data showed that at least 4,593,838 accounts are in council tax arrears, and at least £4.6 billion is owed to councils in unpaid council tax.