IF death and taxes are life's only certainties, shouldn't we spend a wee bit of time getting them right?

A commission looking at the future of local taxation in Scotland is calling for evidence before the closing date next Wednesday. Currently, there are 23 submissions on the site, to the Local Government and Communities Committee with regards the Council Tax (Substitution of Proportion) (Scotland) Order 2016, and only about 10 of these are from private citizens, rather than public bodies such as COSLA and West Lothian Council.

During the independence referendum build up much was made of how Scotland is a more progressive nation than its neighbours and far more politically engaged. So, with an issue that affects every adult citizen in the country, why have only 10 people bothered their bahookies to share an opinion? These are our public services and we should choose how we fund them.

It's estimated that 400,000 homes in England and Scotland are in the wrong bands but there isn't much chat about the inequity of council tax bands.

The subject has had most publicity recently after a minor hoo-ha on Thursday when it seemed Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale had failed to register a vote at Holyrood over a Conservative amendment that said the government's council tax proposals undermine local accountability.

Ms Dugdale insists she voted, which then provoked accusations that she was "standing with the Tories". You cannae win.

A recap for those who haven't been taking notes: a report by the Commission on Local Tax Reform last year said council tax should be scrapped and politicians should implement fairer, more progressive and - most importantly - transparent taxes to fund local services.

Council tax changes were set out the First Minister in March and propose increasing the amount paid by properties in the Bands E to G. So, a band E household would pay roughly £105 more a year while those in the highest band will pay an average of £517 more a year.

The aim is to raise an extra £100 million a year for schools to help close the attainment gap between Scotland's wealthiest and most deprived pupils - and who can argue against that?

Well, just give me a minute.

On the surface it seems absolutely fair and progressive to say those who have most, pay most.

One submission to the Local Government and Communities Committee suggests that if people live in a property they should be able to afford the associated costs. "The onus should not be on targeted relief but rather people being responsible for choices they make and continue to make."

Absolutely. But it doesn't follow that those who are in the highest council tax bands are living in the most expensive properties.

Here's my admission of vested interest and, please, if you're the type of Brit who's offended by frank discussion of money, look away now: my flat is in Band E.

My flat, in one of Scotland's most deprived areas, cost £87,500. It has one bedroom and one little box room; no cupboards as there's nowhere to fit any; and a kitchenette off the living room small enough that I keep my cooking utensils under my bed.

My friend lives in a £200,000, five-bedroomed duplex in a far smarter postcode and is also Band E. Another friend with a two-bedroomed flat larger than mine is a Band A.

When I appealed, the Assessor told me that tenement flats are always cheaper because it's possible to check exactly what they cost in 1991 when the valuations were set. New builds are trickier and they tend to round up the way.

Maybe there's some truth in that or maybe I was being fobbed off. Whichever, the Scottish Government has said it does not plan to hold a revaluation.

But a revaluation is the only way to introduce any kind of parity to a system that seems to demand completely arbitrary sums of money from tax payers, regardless of housing situation or financial circumstance. And don't get me started on the nonsense of the single person discount being set at 25 per cent when council tax is based on two people sharing.

It's a wee while since Christopher Bullock wrote The Cobbler of Preston - 300 years precisely, in fact - and things have moved on a smidge. He was right about death and taxes but we must add celebrity.

The cleaving of Brangelina and the Berrexit of Mary Berry from The Great British Bake Off nearly broke the internet.

People are motivated to have their say about celebrity separations but seem not to care two hoots about matters affecting their finances and the provision of vital services.

If only we could get Mary to front the Great Scottish Tax Off, maybe we'd get somewhere then.