It has been reported that the level of council tax in Wales is on the increase, as consumers struggle to keep on top of their financial commitments following a very turbulent couple of years. Whilst the recession is officially over many people are still struggling with their money, and this is affecting their ability to pay bills.

Whilst some councils in Wales were owed hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid council tax last year there were others, such as Monmouthshire, that were owed over two million pounds in unpaid council tax for the year. Many councils across Wales saw a sharp increase in the amount of unpaid council tax owed to them.

Across the Gwent area councils were collectively owed nearly £7 million in unpaid council tax, and this sort of debt has seriously affected the ability of these local authorities to effectively provide the services for which council tax is paid. This means that those who are paying their council tax regularly may be made to suffer as a result of those that do not pay.

Council officials have said that officers are looking at different ways in which to improve on collecting council tax from consumers, but with job losses still set to affect consumers and with many struggling to pay other bills and debts there is uncertainty over how successful local authorities will be in terms of collecting unpaid council tax from those that have fallen behind with their tax or have simply stopped paying.

The Tax Payers Alliance said: “Council tax has skyrocketed in recent years, and a large chunk of the money that’s owed will simply reflect people’s inability to pay, and in other cases it will be wilful breaking of the law. Councils must do more to recover the money and ensure that law-abiding taxpayers do not have to pay more to make up for those who don’t pay.”

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