Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
Dude ... this is where you come unstuck, just pasting endless links to other sites and expecting other people to make inferences and draw conclusions for you. What the merry heck has Austria got to do with anything? And why is it my job to answer that for you?
We're a sovereign state and we can set up our tax affairs any way we like. If we want to create a Public Broadcasting Authority to precept district councils to collect the same amount of money from every household in the UK, then we can. Equally, if we think it's better for it to reflect ability to pay, we can tap in to the council tax banding mechanism. It's for us to decide.
Your point about who has to collect the debt is neither here nor there, seeing as the council is already collecting fire and police authority debt (in England and Wales) and water/sewage company debt (in Scotland). The council would still have to go through the same process even without any precepts because the vast bulk of the debt arises from the single largest figure on the bill, which is their own council tax.
|
The complaints commonly fielded include, "not watching the BBC" and being chased for non-payment. How does the BBC's DG claim about the German household tax fit in with that?
People currently dodge and are chased over council tax.
Link
Quote:
Regulation 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 allows magistrates to commit someone with council tax debt to prison. Individuals can be jailed for up to three months and, as it is a civil offence, they do not get a criminal record. While the prison term does not clear the debt, once someone has been imprisoned, the council cannot use further enforcement measures.
Campaigners have also criticised local authorities’ regular use of bailiffs to collect debts. Research by the Money Advice Trust found local authorities in England and Wales referred 2.3m debts to bailiffs in 2016-17, an increase of 14% on 2014-15.
|
Not seeing anywhere in Europe where the council are responsible for administering and collecting the "TV Licence". Simply not their responsibility.
Just pointing that adding to Council Tax doesn't solve the main complaints about the current system, and is far from being a viable solution.