Party council tax stalls set out

The issue has moved to centre stage in the run-up to the Holyrood poll in May, with some parties pledging to scrap it.

Labour's Jack McConnell said small numbers would gain and lose from its plan for new upper and lower bands.

The SNP and the Lib Dems have favoured a local income tax, while the Tories want to halve council tax for pensioners over 65.

Mr McConnell told BBC Scotland's Politics Show that his party's big change was to cut water rates for pensioners.

But the SNP's Alex Salmond and Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen said they had met with pensioners "desperate" over the prospect of having to pay their council tax bills.

Mr Salmond, who wants a 3p fixed local income tax, subsidised from efficiency savings in the executive, branded the council tax "oppressive and inherently unfair" and said it should be abolished.

"Nobody likes paying any form of taxation, but I've never had anybody in my constituency surgery in tears because of PAYE," he said.

"The council tax is unfair and deeply unpopular"
Nicol Stephen
Leader, Scottish Liberal Democrats

"But I regularly have people in deep distress, normally pensioners, about their local council tax bills. That must be the experience of every constituency member or parliament or MSP.

The Liberal Democrats who also favour local income tax, have insisted they could persuade the UK Government to continue with council tax benefit for people living in Scotland.

"The council tax is unfair and deeply unpopular," said Mr Stephen, who added: "A local income tax is fair as it's based on ability to pay.

"More than 70% of households would be better off with a system of local income tax. 500,000 pensioners would pay absolutely nothing at all and the average family would pay more than £400."

For the Tories, Annabel Goldie promoted her plan to halve council tax for pensioners over 65.

She said: "If you look at an administration which is manageable and not hugely costly to execute, then actually a 50% discount funded from the centre is one of the simplest mechanisms to pursue."

But Miss Goldie denied this was an election bribe to wealthier pensioners.

Local services

"There are many pensioners I'm aware of, aged 65 and over, who find the main financial headache each month is actually the council tax bill," she responded.

"The view of my party was that they need a helping hand and we're prepared to give it."

However, Mr McConnell insisted he thought council tax was a stable system and that Labour's proposals would allow people in the lowest value properties to benefit, while making the "very small" number people in Scotland's most expensive houses pay more.

"The big charge that pensioners face on their council tax bills is water and sewerage charges," he said.

"Abolishing them, in my view, is a far higher priority than the proposals that have come forward for a new poll tax from Alex Salmond.

"The difference between the plans that we outlined is that everybody will continue to pay something on their local services."