HOUSEHOLDERS in Argyll and Bute will see their council tax bills grow five times faster their their neighbours in West Dunbartonshire.
New figures from the Scottish Government show an average rise in the controversial local levy of little more than inflation across the country.
However, the numbers also indicate dramatic differences in estimated changes in how much tax is paid, per dwelling, in each of Scotland’s 32 council areas.
Tories leapt on the statistics, suggesting they demonstrated a “post-code lottery” for council tax rises. Government officials, however, attributed local variations to wider changes in the regional real estate markets, such as new schemes being built.
READ MORE: Scottish Greens push SNP to scrap council tax
The latest figures are the total toll of council tax for each area divided by the number of dwellings it has. This is one of two main ways of measuring council taxes, the other, traditionally, being a focus on a Band D property
Argyll and Bute will see its average council tax per dwelling bill jump the most, by £96 to £1,166. Aberdonian householders in 2018-19 will an average of a little more, £1,181. But this will be £6 less than in 2017-18. The figure fore West Dunbartonshire, right next to Argyll, but with a very different property market and social demographic, will be £989, up just £18.
Tory local government spokesman Alexander Stewart said: “Householders in certain parts of Scotland will be absolutely furious at this postcode lottery.
“It’s patently unfair that the average bill in some parts of the country is going up by almost £100, while in others there is little change.
“This is what happens when the SNP government slashes local government funding to the bone – it forces councils to get the money from elsewhere.”
Mr Stewart also repeated a Conservative claim that Scotland is the most taxed part of the UK, rhetoric sparked by SNP income tax rises on people earning more than £33,000.
Alexander Stewart
However, council tax is lower in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. The per-dwelling average for the levy is £1106 north of the border and £1258 in England.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman bluntly rejected his claim. She said: “This is a misinterpretation of data and these figures do not represent the changes paid by individual households, where bills will increase by a maximum of 3 per cent.
“”All local authorities have chosen to increase council tax by three per cent in 2018/19, generating an additional £77 million for public service provision.
“In 2018-19, the average charge for all property bands is between £300 and £450 lower in Scotland than England.
“In spite of continued UK Government cuts to Scotland’s resource budget, we have continued to treat local government very fairly and this year there has been a real terms increase to the local government settlement.
“We also have invested in a range of measures to make council tax fairer and help people meet their council tax.”
Ash Denholm, an SNP MSP, echoed the government criticism of Mr Stewart, saying: “The only thing the Tories have proven here is that council tax bills are lower in Scotland than they are in England - by an average of £565 a year for a Band D property.”
However, official band levels do not reflect discounts for single occupiers.
Councils, such as those in rural areas like Argyll and Bute, have discretion on whether to provide discounts on empty properties.
Average per-capita dwelling payments could also rise in an area where there had been a large housing development of higher-end properties. The highest average bills were in the suburbs of Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire, where properties tend to be larger.
Council tax only pays for a small proportion of local government funding. Scottish councils have complained their core grant funding is not keeping up with their needs.
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