LOCAL councils should be made responsible for raising more of the money they spend, according to a think tank.
The Centre for Scottish Public Policy has called for councils to be given control over non-domestic rates in addition to a reformed version of the council tax.
Together with housing rents and fees for services from leisure centres to personal care, the move would see councils generating over 60 per cent of their budgets.
The plan is set out in an interim submission to the Scottish Government's independent commission looking into reforms to local taxation.
The CSPP describes the council tax as a "flawed system" made worse by the freeze imposed by the Scottish Government since 2007.
It says: "The standstill on council tax levels is regressive, not providing material advantage to the lowest income households, and also infantilises local authorities and those who elect them by denying them options of specifically increasing local taxes to support proposed initiatives and expenditure."
It said a land value taxation, a system favoured by the Scottish Greens, or a tax base on house value, an idea rejected by the main parties in 2007, should be considered as possible long term replacements for the council tax.
But it argued they "may be too ambitious for agreement now" and instead proposed a reformed council tax based on revalued properties, with extra bands and no discounts for single occupants or second homes.
Pressing for control over non domestic rates to be transferred from the Scottish Government to councils, it said the move would give local authorities responsibility for raising about 60 per cent of their revenue, a similar proportion to Holyrood under new tax powers due to be devolved over the next few years.
In 2013/14, the most recent financial year for which figures are available, Scotland's 32 local authorities spent £17.7billion.
Of that, £10.3billion came directly from the Scottish Government in the form of revenue and capital grants and non domestic rates.
Fees and charges raised £4.3billion, the council tax £2billion and housing rents £1.1billion.
The CSPP is an independent think tank chaired by Professor Richard Kerley, of Queen Margaret University, an authority on local government and public services.
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