Local councils appear to be taking a tough stance over council tax debt, and are petitioning for bankrupcies over debts of as little as £1200.

It is thought that authorities are getting tough over arrears in order to meet govenment-set performance targets.

Citizens Advice is claiming that councils are failing to seek negotiated settlements with defaulters, and are moving straight to enforcement, which can include bankruptcy and potentially the losing of homes.

This action is quicker than other methods of collection, and enables councils to collect more tax in the year it falls due - a performance indicator for the authorities.

The Bankruptcy Advisory Service, an independent body, says that the problem is not restricted to a few authorities. Advice is being sought from across the UK from people facing losing their home because of council tax arrears. Fife council, for example, made 32 people bankrupt in 2006/2007 for non-payment of council tax, an increase from 28 the previous year.

Julia Goldsworthy, who speaks for the Liberal Democrats on communities and local government, is worried that this trend may be followed by other government departments such as the Child Support Agency, and warns that a dangerous precedent is being set.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Tax Debt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.