09 September 2005
Elderly people should not have to pay council tax, a public sector conference was told this week.
The proposal that pensioners over 70 or 75 should be exempt came from Alistair Crichton, North Lanarkshire Council's director of finance.
He told the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation annual conference in Crieff, in a debate on reviews of local government finance, that there was scope for such a change under the current system.
Suggesting that the benefits system should be reviewed, he said: 'We should consider whether there is a case for exempting certain groups, like the over-70s or 75s. The question, however, is whether the money would have to be found from other taxpayers.'
Crichton called for a council tax revaluation in Scotland. Although it is under way in England and Wales, a revaluation has been resisted so far by ministers north of the Border.
Gary Watson, the chair of the IRRV local taxation and revenues faculty board, agreed that a council tax exemption could be considered for elderly people. But he added: 'Someone would have to pay for it.'
PFsep2005
