Hounslow Writes Off Over £1.2 million In Unpaid Council Tax |
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TaxPayers' Alliance describe amount uncollected across the capital as "shocking"
Hounslow Council has written off more than £1.2 million of unpaid council tax during 2006/07, according to figures out this week. Published by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the figures show that LBH gave up chasing £1,233,000 whilst neighbouring borough Hammersmith & Fulham wrote off £1,632,000 and Ealing £141,000. A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said, “All debt written off was deemed uncollectible usually through deceased cases with no assets or absconds – in these cases full traces are sought first using a number of internal and external methods.” He added “During 2006/7 we collected £97.2M for council tax payments.” A total of more than £49 million was written off by councils across London with the amount for the entire country totalling £133,755,000. Campaign group the TaxPayers' Alliance described the figures as "shocking". "Council tax is putting an unsustainable burden on ordinary families, and allowing this hole in the budget to continue adds to that burden."
April 17, 2008 |