FOI request (FOIR-507809369)

Council Tax Receipts

Requested Fri 14 April 2023
Responded Tue 02 May 2023

I would like to request proof of where the residents' Council Tax payments are being spent.

1. I would like to see the previous 3 years of receipts for where the council tax funding is being spent. I do not want to see percentages but proof in pounds (£s) as to where the annual council tax is being spent.

2. I would like to know if my council tax funds Hastings Police Service, Hastings Ambulance Service, Hastings Waste collection and Schools. If so, I would like to know as to what percentage it is distributed?

3. Which law, not legislation, states that council tax must be paid?

4. Which law states that it is a criminal offence to not pay council tax?

5. Please attach the copy of contract in where I agreed to pay for council tax. Please keep in mind that an 'assumptuous agreement' does not stand up in court.

Response

1. Details of how Council Tax is spent is freely available on our website: Council tax information - https://www.hastings.gov.uk/council-tax/. We do not hold receipts.

2. Council Tax funds services provided by Hastings Borough Council, Police and Crime Commissioner, East Sussex Fire Authority, and East Sussex County Council. Details for the above can also be found on our website, using the above link.

3. The liability to pay Council Tax falls under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and later regulations. This is a statute created by a democratically elected Parliament of the United Kingdom which has received the assent of the Crown. Liability to pay Council Tax is set by The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992. This gives local authorities the right to demand Council Tax which is used to fund essential local service and Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011.

4. As above.

5. Council Tax is not optional and not something you consent to. If you are liable to pay Council Tax, you must make your payments. Any reference to a person not having consented or there being a contractual relationship between the Council has no legal basis.

Anyone who withholds payment will have recovery action taken against them. In extreme cases this could even lead to committal proceedings, or even a prison sentence, as in the Manchester Magistrates' court vs McKenzie (2015) case, where an individual who attempted to use 'freeman on the land' defences in court ended up in prison for 40 days.