Millions owed in unpaid council tax
Ipswich: Borough owed more than £3million in unpaid council tax
by Matthew Stott
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
1:40 PM
MORE than £3million of council tax was still owed to the cash-strapped borough at the end of last year, shock figures revealed today.
But despite the size of the outstanding debt, councillors have defended the sum – claiming the authority is a “very successful collector” of the tax.
The revelations came following a Freedom of Information request submitted by The Ipswich Star, which showed the council was left chasing £3,194,638.01 of unpaid council tax on December 31, 2012.
But councillor Martin Cook, resources portfolio-holder, said: “Ipswich Borough Council has a reputation as a very successful collector of council tax and we will keep on trying to collect unpaid tax however long it takes as long as it is economically viable.
“That is good business and is only fair to the vast majority who pay their council tax.”
By the end of March last year the outstanding figure stood at £4,712,414.53 – meaning £1,517,776.52 was collected in the last nine months of 2012.
The council insists it works with people who run into difficulties on payment arrangements and urges any resident struggling to pay to contact officers as soon as possible.
An Ipswich Borough Council spokesman said: “Currently 64 per cent of residents pay by direct debit which is the easiest method and we do encourage people to do this.”
On March 31, 2010, £3,534,579.00 was owed, meaning the overall figure dropped by 9.6 per cent in just over two-and-a-half years by December 31, 2012.
The figures also show that 20,363 reminders were issued to tax dodgers between March 31 and December 31 last year – an average of 73 every day.
There were 3,977 court summons in the same period and 3,448 liability orders were granted.
Robert Oxley, campaign manager for the TaxPayers’ Alliance, criticised the large sum of uncollected council tax.
He said: “Ipswich Borough Council needs to explain why there is such a large difference between what they expect to collect and what they are actually managing to bring in.
“The council cannot simply shrug its shoulders at such a large outstanding sum.
“It’s no wonder some people are struggling to pay their council tax though after a decade of hikes.
“It’s important that town halls differentiate between those who simply try to avoid paying and those who can’t afford to when dealing with cases.
“The latter should be helped with easier ways to pay, while the former should be pursued for outstanding bills otherwise taxpayers are left picking up the tab.”
Last year it was announced that the amount of uncollected council tax on a national scale – much dating back several years – stands at £2.3billion.
Is council tax too high?
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9 comments
And yet they still want to increase their portion of the council tax... IBC are a joke.
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Fat Lady Sings
Friday, January 25, 2013
£3m owed well thats a drop in the ocean after spending £21M on civic drive what else will they waste money on next!!!!
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Nmatthe2
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
£3 million? That's nothing. The country is owed £120 billion A YEAR in tax avoidance by multinational corporations.
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Origami Penguin
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Business rates are not set by the Borough Council. The Council simply collects the rates.
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Max
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Am I the only one saying that if they don't pay, then why should I? Just what are the council doing to get this money back? Why are the rest of us being held to ransom by the non-payers. Stop their bin collections to make them pay!
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N M
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
I would refuse to collect rubbish for anyone who did not pay their council tax and dump their black bin in their front garden until they did. No doubt these council tax dodgers have enough money to pay for Sky Subscription so should pay their council tax first
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the opinion man
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
how much of this is due to them over paying council tax benefit payments and then wanting it back at the drop of a hat when they realise THEIR mistake?, totally screwing over the innocent person at the same time
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tony cowling
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Funny isn't it how £3 million when Councillors are responsible is seen as a job well done in under collection, yet when something in the town needs a couple of thousand spent on it, it says it is too much money and can't afford it!
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england1770
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Council tax is way too high. If the authorities were less greedy, people would pay. It's the same with the Town Centre Shops. Many of of them are closing because of the Council's exorbitant rates.
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dejosta
Tuesday, January 22, 2013