We have a legal duty to collect Council Tax and decide who must pay it.
Some people think they’re only bound by laws and contracts they agree to, but this is not true. People who think this are often known as “Freemen on the Land”, but they might not describe themselves this way.
You cannot choose which laws to follow or opt out of Council Tax.
Council Tax and Freemen on the Land
If you’re a Freeman on the Land, Council Tax laws still apply to you.
WarningDo not ignore Council Tax communications. If you do not pay, we'll start the Council Tax recovery process.
What happens if you do not pay your Council Tax
How we respond to enquiries about the legality of Council Tax
We’ll always do our best to answer enquiries about Council Tax.
However, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to lengthy enquiries that are focused on hypothetical arguments and have no basis in law. For example, arguments based on archaic law like The Magna Carta.
This uses our resources at the expense of other taxpayers.
After consideration, we may treat such requests as unreasonable or vexatious. We can refuse them under the relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or using the exemptions in the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
There is a process to follow if you want to appeal a Council Tax bill or decision.
Information and documents we will not provide
We’re often asked to provide certain information or documents relating to the legality of Council tax. We will not do this.
Signed Council Tax contracts or “true” bills
Council Tax is not collected or owed under a contract. It is a statutory tax imposed and collected by us as a public authority. This is set out in the:
- Local Government Finance Act
- Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) regulations 1992
- Local Government Act 2003
The law gives us the authority to charge, collect and recover Council Tax without a contract or mutual consent from an individual.
References to laws about companies or contracts are not relevant.
A company registration number, D-U-N-S number or VAT details
We’re a local authority in the public sector. This means we do not have a company registration number.
A D-U-N-S number is different from a company registration number.
Council Tax is outside the scope of VAT, so we cannot provide a VAT invoice.
Evidence showing a wet ink signature
We do not need to provide a signature to charge for Council Tax.
The law says that the use of a rubber stamp or electronic signature are both valid ways of signing a summons.
The Magistrates’ Courts (Amendment) Rules 2019 removed the need for a summons to include the name or signature of the person issuing it. It only needs the name and address of the relevant court office.
Evidence of a resident’s legal obligation to pay Council Tax
Who is considered liable to pay Council Tax is set out in the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Residents do not need to agree to this law for it to be legal.
How we work out who’s responsible for paying Council Tax
Confirmation that the debt exists
When we send a Council Tax bill, it creates a debt.
Residents do not need to sign or agree to be charged Council Tax. This is because it’s a tax, not a contract or service charge.
A copy of a liability order
Granting a liability order is a legal process, not a document.
Magistrates’ courts grant liability orders and produce a list of orders after the hearing.
We and the court that granted the order keep an electronic copy of the list.
We notify all residents who have a liability order made against them.
Read about what happens at a court summons hearing
Personal data and consent
We do not need residents’ consent to process their data if we need it for a lawful task or a task in the public interest.
Billing and collecting Council Tax is a lawful task that we do.
Read about your rights and how to make a data protection request
How we share personal data
We may share your information with other:
- council departments
- organisations that handle public funds and assist in the processing of other benefits
- government departments
- organisations responsible for detecting or preventing fraud
- organisations responsible for auditing and administering public funds
- organisations that help us recover money we’re owed, like certificated enforcement agents
Read our Council Tax privacy notice
Read our data protection privacy notice
Challenging the legality of Council Tax in court
Recently, someone challenged the legality of Council Tax in the courts.
The courts dismissed the challenges.
The person was ordered to pay legal costs, on top of their Council Tax bill.
The courts’ decision confirmed that:
- Parliament has the power to make laws, individual consent is not required
- the issuing of a summons for Council Tax can be delegated
- a summons does not need to be signed
- Council Tax bills do not need to have a specific title or heading
- if a large number of people attend a hearing without notice, the court can limit attendance to make sure the hearing goes ahead
You can read the law about Council Tax and how it works on the government’s legislation website.
Read the legislation that covers Council Tax: