Council Tax and not being on the Electoral Roll.

It's that time again when forms are dropping through letterboxes asking people to declare exactly who lives at that address and you must duly complete it and return it to be included on the voting register / electoral roll.

But.................. I'm sick of voting and nothing getting done, so, dilemma is, if I'm willing to give up my right to vote and NOT fill the form in, I therefore won't have to pay the preposterous £800 a year Council Tax bill I get for living in this deprived area on a high unemployment council estate in a rented 1 bed council flat ?

Right ?

Well, it can't be that easy - is it ? it's an offence not to complete and return the form, but if you aren't on the electoral roll, you don't get charged Council Tax right ? (albeit losing your chance to vote)....

But, how do Council tenants stand ? When I finish this temp. job I'll go back to getting housing benefits again. I already get 25% single person discount for Council Tax...

Just wondering if anyone knows the facts please ?

if I'm willing to give up my right to vote and NOT fill the form in, I therefore won't have to pay the preposterous £800 a year Council Tax bill I get for living in this deprived area on a high unemployment council estate in a rented 1 bed council flat ?

Right ?

Wrong.

it's an offence not to complete and return the form, but if you aren't on the electoral roll, you don't get charged Council Tax right ? (albeit losing your chance to vote)....

Also wrong.

Has it occurred to you that being a council tenant means that the organisation who collects your council tax just so happens to be your landlord? They're going to carry on looking to you for council tax until you give your notice to move out, regardless of whether you bother with the electoral roll or not.

It might be a bit easier to dodge it if you were in private rented. The electoral roll is just one of the ways that local authorities might try to find out who is responsible for the council tax. But it's not the only way.

But even so, you can be put in prison for non-payment of council tax - so is it worth the risk? Paying your council tax is much much more important than paying your credit cards, store cards, catalogues, overdrafts, or even state benefit overpayment refunds. Your credit cards aren't anywhere near maxed out, so don't even go there. It's not worth it.

Mega......It seems that you believe the administrators of Council Tax are a bunch of morons and that is quite insulting to those involved. To belive such a thing is does little credit to your intelligence either.

Every property in the Council's District is logged and if Council Tax is not being collected a valid reason must be entered on the computer system.

It might be a bit easier to dodge it if you were in private rented. The electoral roll is just one of the ways that local authorities might try to find out who is responsible for the council tax. But it's not the only way.

We are just ending a tenancy and we wanted to check that the Council Tax payments were up to date and what the situation would be if we relet or if the property remained vacant.

The Council were quite positive that the tenant would be pursued for Council Tax if he failed to let them know his tenancy had ended.......so I guess that if a tenant did a moonlight then the sluths would follow and reclaim money due to the Council

As Squidgy points out your proposed action could result in you ending up in prison.

I didn't mean to sound moralizing for that post by the way. Oh, well, okay then, yes I did mean to sound moralizing - but I don't want to soud moralizing any more, and am now wondering whether it was a good idea or not.

Let's get it in perspective. Not registering on the electoral roll doesn't exactly constitute council tax fraud. It just means you won't be able to vote, that's all. But you'll still be expected to pay council tax.

Thanks for the extra input from Worldlife.

Are you aware of your right to council tax benefit? The taper is 20p in the pound of extra income. It's 65p in the pound for housing benefit. If your income is low, you should be claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit anyway. Oh, and if you're claiming Working Tax Credit, you also get a bigger income disregard before they start making deductions from housing benefit and council tax benefit.

It's right that you get a 25% discount on your council tax, unless your girlfriend is living with you on the quiet. If she is, then you could go to prison for that too. Admittedly they're a bit less likely to find out about that, though, unless one of the people you mention in this thread grasses you up!

I don't want to see our MT in the slammer. The rest of us resent council tax just as much as you, even though admittedly we're not all on low-demand estates. So I appreciate that optional council tax is a nice dream.

But the point is, if you want to dodge it, you're going to have to try harder than that! But it's not worth the risk.

The only way you can quickly end your obligation to pay council tax legally is to change your accommodation arrangements, eg be a lodger or bedsit-dweller. That's not going to happen unless you move. Your new tenancy will be less secure than your existing one, and it'll also make it harder to get rehoused by the council in the future, because they'll see your move as making yourself "intentionally homeless".

If you don't want to move, there's another way. Enrol to do an undergrad course at one of Manchester's colleges - you'll need to start off by talking to UCAS. Part time courses, evening classes or further education won't count, it'll probably need to be a degree or diploma course. On the plus side, you won't have to pay council tax, provided that you don't take in any lodgers who aren't also full time students themselves too. But on the flip side, you won't be able to get housing benefit if you fall on hard times. Or Jobseeker's Allowance either, for that matter.

Can't think of any other ways right now ...

Hi!
I found this post pretty useful, even if old, and I'd like to ask a few more questions about Council Tax.
I am an EU citizen and I moved to London a few months ago. I moved into the flat in which I'm living now on june. I then asked my flatmate to put my name on all the bills, and on the Council Tax as well, since I know it's compulsory.
Given the fact that my flatmate is a complete idiot, I found out just now that he NEVER put my name on the Council Tax, even if he lied various times saying me that he actually did. Well, now I really don't know what to do. Which is the fine if I've never been declared? I'm willing to sort everything out, and I'd like to know what I should expect.
I now also received a warning by the Electoral Office, saying that (my flatmate) never replied to the forms sent and there could be a 1000£ fine if we don't answer.
I am wondering: if I write to the Electoral Office that I've been living here since June, they'll obviously communicate to the Council Tax resposibles. Should I expect fines of tousands of £?
Thank you for the help!

I don't think they normally fine people for genuine mistakes. Your best bet is to tell them the truth about how long you've lived there and they will calculate how much you owe in council tax. If you are living on your own, there will be a discount of 25% available. If you don't live alone, whoever lives with you will be liable for half of the amount the council taxes your flat.

If you have a very low income or none at all, then you need to explain this to the council, they may be able to let you off some or all of the council tax.

OMG! An 8 year old post resurrection! Glad I have been of use, or rather the replies received

What happened to squidgy?