Local Government Finance Act 1992 - Reg 13A

MDF_Goblin

I'm new here so forgive me if this has been pointed out before. But I speak to a lot of people and even my own local authority did not know about this regulation and it looks like a good one to me. Obviously each authority will administer it differently but it would certainly be worth asking them about.

This regulation was inserted into the above act by the Local Government Act 2003.

"13A Billing authority's power to reduce amount of tax payable

(1) Where a person is liable to pay council tax in respect of any chargeable dwelling and any day, the billing authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated may reduce the amount which he is liable to pay as respects the dwelling and the day to such extent as it thinks fit.

(2) The power under subsection (1) above includes power to reduce an amount to nil.

(3) The power under subsection (1) may be exercised in relation to particular cases or by determining a class of case in which liability is to be reduced to an extent provided by the determination."

Essentially, it means you can ask the council, and they have the power to reduce your council tax for no particular reason and by as much or as little as they want.

These are the explanatory notes attached to the Local Government Act 2003. Regulation 13A was inserted by Section 76 of the LGC 2003.

Section 76: Billing authority's power to reduce amount of tax payable

150. Under the LGFA 1992, dwellings may be exempt from council tax if they fall within one of the exempt dwelling classes set out in an order made under section 4 of that Act (S.I. 1992/558). The amount of council tax payable may be subject to a discount under section 11 (where there is one or no resident, or all, or all but one of, the residents fall to be disregarded), or in Wales, under section 11 to the extent that the authority has not exercised the discretion under section 12 to reduce the discount. Finally, the amount may be reduced through the effect of regulations made under section 13 of the LGFA 1992, e.g. where it is occupied by a disabled person: see the Council Tax (Reductions for Disabilities) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/554). All of these exemptions, discounts and reductions are prescribed in orders or regulations made by the Secretary of State, or in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales.

151. Billing authorities do not, at present, have a discretion to grant further discounts and exemptions, or to remit or waive council tax on hardship grounds. Authorities do not have the power to respond to hard cases which do not fall within any of the centrally prescribed categories.

152. Section 76 inserts a new section 13A into the LGFA 1992 which will give billing authorities in England and Wales a broad discretion to reduce the amount of council tax payable as respects a dwelling, to such extent as they think fit. Subsection (2) of the new section 13A provides that this may include reducing the amount payable in respect of a day to nil.

153. Authorities may exercise this power in individual cases (e.g. individual hardship, in cases where the taxpayer is not eligible for council tax benefit, for example, where the dwelling is not their sole or main residence). Or they may determine classes of case in which liability is to be reduced (i.e. the equivalent of authorities determining exempt dwellings classes, or reductions in circumstances other than those prescribed in regulations under section 13 of the LGFA 1992).

Give them a ring and ask...you never know.

As they say in the Army, "you don't ask, you don't get".

CIS

We had a laugh about that in our dept as it happened to Dean Gaffney (him who tried to be an actor) a few months ago when he apparently pleaded poverty to his local council.

EDIT: **Its not a claim in my area - It was in the papers**

In our area no one in our dept has the authority to give a discount/exemption like that, it has to be voted on by the Councillors - I would suspect that the majority of councils will work like that - but if you don't try you wont get.


Its like the discount that can be given for using certain preferred payment method, good if you can get it but it alienates those who don't and the council shoots itself in the foot with the loss of revenue.

dmg24

CIS, I would be weary of leaving your last comment in place. If you deal with such claims then all information should be confidential, irrespective of your feelings towards the person or their status in the public eye.

dmg24

And everything you read in the newspapers is true, is it?