Almost £7 million of unpaid council tax has yet to be collected by the Isle of Wight Council.
As of March 31 this year, there was £6,946,000 in outstanding owed to the council.
In the past year (2017 – 2018), £30,000 of unpaid tax was written off — compared to £89,000 written off from 2016-17.
Council tax debts are written off when local authorities consider the money no longer recoverable.
97.4 per cent collection rate
Last year, the council collected over £90 million in council tax, with a collection rate of 97.4 per cent for the year.
The total amount owed to the council is a cumulative figure, and includes arrears that may stretch back to the introduction of council tax in 1993. Nationally, £3 billion in tax has yet to be collected by 367 authorities.
Last year, the Isle of Wight Council spent £634,000 on court and administration costs.
The council with the highest amount of council tax outstanding is Birmingham, with over £30 million owed. City of London Council has just £125,000 outstanding.
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight Council said:
“Various means are taken to pursue and recover outstanding debts, such as agreed arrangement plans, enforcement action, attachment of earnings, and attachment of benefits.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Tax Rebate
