Council Tax has long been known to be a highly regressive and inefficient tax. Since devolution, there have been repeated pledges from various political parties to abolish the tax, but despite this being a devolved matter for the Scottish Government, it has been retained. As such, replacing Council Tax with a fairer and more efficient alternative is long overdue. 

New polling published this week, carried out by YouGov on behalf of Tax Justice Scotland, finds that the Scottish public agree. The polling finds that:

The polling comes more than a decade after the cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform concluded that “the present Council Tax system must end” and as the Scottish Government’s consultation on Council Tax reform draws to a close.

This polling shows that people in Scotland are fed up with the current outdated and unfair system whilst clearly backing a more equitable alternative. With just 2% of Scots supporting the existing regressive system, whereby people in lower-value homes pay proportionately more than people in higher value housing, the case for reform is overwhelming. With the elections in May rapidly approaching, politicians across the political spectrum would do well to take note and begin work on a properly functioning property tax system.

The proposed reforms to Council Tax contained with the recent draft Scottish Budget, creating two new bands for houses valued over £1m from 2028, are a somewhat welcome start but amount to very limited measures that do not address the long-standing issues with the local tax system. Making the revaluation targeted to more expensive homes means most bills will remain based on 1991 property values for the foreseeable future, and misses an opportunity to combine the introduction of the more progressive bands with a wider revaluation that would make the system fairer. 

All tax changes are politically challenging and ultimately have winners and losers but maintaining the present situation is clearly not financially or politically sustainable. Addressing this should be an urgent priority for the next Scottish Government – and steps taken to replace it with a fairer, modern property tax could raise revenue, reduce inequality, and improve the functioning of the housing market.

Future Economy Scotland will soon be publishing new research modelling the fiscal options available to the Scottish Government, including setting out recommended reforms to council tax. By creating a fairer and more efficient system of property taxation, the Scottish Government can raise revenue, strengthen public services, and support a just transition to net zero.