ALLIANCE Council Tax consultation response emphasises the importance of secure funding for local services
- Area of Work: Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 4th February 2026
Reform of the council tax system is long overdue, with the current system negatively impacting funding for services including social care.
The ALLIANCE have responded to the Scottish Government’s “Future of Council Tax” consultation. The proposals included a potential revaluation of properties for council tax purposes, which has not been undertaken since the system was introduced. This means council tax is based on property values from 1991. In addition, the government put forward a range of options for
In our response, the ALLIANCE noted that we have previously called for local tax reform to be progressed as a matter of urgency. A fair and secure form of local taxation is an essential prerequisite to high quality and accessible public services. Local councils across Scotland deliver many of these services, most notably from the ALLIANCE perspective social care, but also transport, housing, education, leisure and cleansing.
We believe that the current council tax system, based on 1991 property values, is not fair, does not provide the secure funding basis these services need, and is therefore not fit for purpose. We therefore welcome the principle of the proposals set out in this consultation. A comprehensive revaluation of properties to bring valuations up to date must be carried out, and to prevent a repeat of a decades-long gap between valuations, with regular revaluation periods set out in statute.
We believe that the structure of bands should be more progressive, reducing the liability for those in the least valuable properties, whilst increasing it for those in the most. This should be subject to an appropriate framework of reductions, exemptions and deferrals, particularly targeted at people on lower and/or less secure incomes, such as older people, disabled people, and unpaid carers.
In the longer term, the current proposals must be seen as a stepping stone rather than a destination. A banded property tax, even if additional bands are added and the progression between them made more progressive, still includes cliff-edges in liability that can have significant impacts on the least well-off taxpayers. We recommend that consideration be given to a full replacement for council tax as soon as possible.
You can read the full response via the resource links below.
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