Full council tax discounts may be offered for poorest Wealden households

On Wednesday (February 8), Wealden’s cabinet is set to consider proposals to alter the authority’s council tax reduction scheme, introducing greater discounts for the district’s lowest income households.

The move would mark a significant change, as, for the past 10 years, no working age person in Wealden has been able to receive more than a 80 per cent discount on their council tax bill.

This system came as a result of changes introduced in 2013, which saw the national council tax benefit replaced with local discount schemes run by individual councils. At that time, Wealden — along with most other local authorities — adopted an approach which saw all households required to pay some amount of money, no matter how low their income.

The council now considers that approach to be flawed, however, as an increasing number of households have been left unable to pay.

In a report to be considered by cabinet members, a council officer said: “The principle of all working age households paying ‘something’ was initially thought to be an approach that would be central to the design of Council Tax Reduction.

“The reality is that, since its introduction, low-income taxpayers, the poorest households, have been unable to pay the balance leading to additional costs, court, and enforcement action and, in some cases, the amounts demanded have been written off as uncollectible.”

Beyond these downsides, the current system also provides less benefit to low income residents than when it was first introduced. This is, at least partially, due to the steady increase in council tax bills over the past 10 years.

As a result, officers are proposing the introduction of 100 per cent council tax discounts to the lowest income earners in the district from April 1st. At the same time, the council would increase the discounts available to other low earners and revisit its income caps.

In practice, this means households which currently receive a 60 per cent discount could receive an 80 percent (or even 100 per cent) discount from April next year. It could also mean a new group of people would become eligible for the first time.

Alongside this, cabinet members are also set to consider increasing the amount charged to long-term empty homes.

Currently, any property owner who leaves a home empty and unfurnished for more than two years will be required to pay a 50 per cent premium on their council tax.

The new system, if implemented, would increase this to 100 per cent, rising to 200 per cent if a property is left empty for more than five years and 300 per cent after 10 years.

For clarity this would mean a home left empty for more than two years would be required to pay double the standard council tax bill and four times as much after more than 10 years.

Such premiums may prove difficult to collect in practice, however, as property owners can currently class an empty property as a second home (and pay no extra council tax) as long as it is “substantially furnished”.