1. It is the only tax that local government in Great Britain controls. It is therefore the only financial link between citizens and councils, and the main means by which local authorities can vary their spending. As a result Council Tax is a key to local democracy and accountability.
2. It is a ‘big’ tax. British households pay on average almost £800 in Council Tax each year. This is close to double our average spending on fuel duty; we only spend more on VAT, income tax and national insurance. In 2001/02, in England alone, around £15 billion was raised through Council Tax, representing about one quarter of local authority spending.
3. It is the largest direct tax for low income families. The poorest one third of British households pay more in Council Tax than income tax [Office of National Statistics]. Even though many low income families pay nothing as a result of Council Tax benefit, on average households in this group pay between £500 and £600 in Council Tax each year.

And Council Tax reform is important…

1. Council Tax is a deeply regressive tax. Households living in the most expensive properties currently pay only three times more than those in the cheapest, even though variations in house prices are many times greater. The result of this is that, for the poorest third of families, Council Tax payments average at over 6% of disposable income, while for the richest third the figure is around 3%. This is despite support for many low income families from Council Tax benefit.
2. Reducing Council Tax bills for low income families will help ‘make work pay’. A drop in the amount of tax that Council Tax benefit needs to cover will diminish the financial ‘tax-benefit trap’ associated with the gradual withdrawal of Council Tax benefit, as incomes rise.
3. In many areas Council Tax is near to being a flat tax. At present, in many areas a large majority of homes lie in the bottom two property bands, meaning that most homes pay almost the same amount of tax. Introducing new bands would reduce this effect.

UNISON is Britain’s biggest trade union with over 1.3 million members. Its members are people working in the public services, for private contractors providing public services and the essential utilities. They include frontline staff and managers working full or part time in local authorities, the NHS, the police service, colleges and schools, the electricity, gas and water industries, transport and the voluntary sector.

LGIU, the Local Government Information Unit, provides an independent voice celebrating the strengths of local democracy and advancing a robust case for greater powers, discretions and financial freedoms for local government. Its membership numbers 155 local authorities and seven trade unions.

The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust is a company limited by guarantee which awards grants for non-charitable activities such as political advocacy.

The aims of the Centre are:

1. To provide authoritative information about Council Tax. We provide a stream of authoritative, reliable information about Council Tax. We hope to raise the profile of the questions about the future of Council Tax, and ensure that decision-makers and other stakeholders are well informed.
2. To argue for a fairer Council Tax that strengthens local democracy. We advocate reform of Council Tax which delivers a tax which is efficient and transparent; which is markedly less regressive; and which empowers local authorities by increasing their capacity to raise revenue.
3. To facilitate discussion and build consensus. We bring key stakeholders together to address questions about the direction Council Tax should take. We hope to build agreement over the principles that should inform Council Tax in the future. Equally importantly, we want to highlight genuine differences and explore ways in which disagreements can be overcome.