Why do tenants have to pay council tax?

[Goodnightseamer]

It's a domestic property tax. But tenants don't own any property, so they're paying tax on something they don't own. They didn't use to have to pay rates, but they have to pay council tax. Why? NB council tax is not a tax for use of services so that argument doesn't wash. It is a tax where liability is created by the existence of a domestic property. Which tenants clearly do not own.

No one wants to pay council tax as its not something you see a direct benefit from, expect seeing your bins being emptied every week. I understand it covers police, fire service and local facilities such as libraries too

Yeah, based on rateable value, broadly speaking potential rent although actually a little more complicated, owners historically liable (and this was during rentier years so many more tenants), with some shifts towards some tenants effectively paying, in the vast majority of cases included in their rent, although even by the time they were scrapped ie as the proportion had grown, only around 40% had some form of liability. And rates were of course much lower than council tax and included water.

So yeah everyone now pays more tax and tenants pay more again. Most tenants didn't get a rent reduction at the time liability changed as rent capping had already ended.

Goodnight, I did say vaguely proportionate! That's pretty good. As I've said several times if you're expecting the tax system to be entirely rational and fair then you're quite new to the analysis of tax

It is also worth remembering that some of the wealthiest people don't work so having a range of taxes not just taxes based on earnings is important.
It is perfectly possible to have property taxes paid for only by the property owner, I currently rent a house in the USA were this happens, obviously the amount of rent I pay reflects this.
Meanwhile my tenant rents out my UK house and pays the council tax and the rent reflects that.
My tenant could buy a property but for their own reasons chooses to rent my house at present.
It is simplistic and untrue to suggest that everyone renting is unable to buy.

@Thehagonthehill exactly - there use to be but that's long gone - unless you manage to scrape into the unliveable accommodation ie no bathroom kitchen & falling down I think op is a troll or one of those people who believe that homes should be free to everybody - problem with that is that even in socialist countries people still pay rent to the state (& probably the equivalent of council tax or rates!) God help her LL!

For the same reason that tenants have to buy their own food, petrol etc., they use/consume the services provided. Are you suggesting that tenants empty their own bins etc.?

nah, just not a fan of disproportionate/regressive taxation and also frustrated that people paying it think they're buying something because the council sends them pie charts.

I feel left out. I dont get a pie chart.

I think you must very young. Because you have no idea about economics or finances. Tenants doesnt mean 'must be min wage' or does homeowner = rich.

However we do all use the same services.

You sound like a teenager who is going to stick it to the man

@MsRomanoff you're missing out. We not only get pie charts but they're coloured. It sure makes all the difference.

You sound entitled and a bit of a scrounger OP.

It is what it is, you have to pay, no point moaning about . Take the government to court for breaking the law if you think it’s unlawful.

Where I live, the property owner pays the taxes. So landlords just include the tax when they decide the rent. Tenants Effectively pay the tax either way, the only difference is the money passes through the landlord on the way.

Also, if you own a house (even with no equity) and you sell it to move elsewhere - even if adverse financial circumstances forced you to move and it's to a smaller, less valuable house in a less nice area, you will be forced to pay stamp duty on the house you buy whilst getting nothing back from the stamp duty you paid to buy the first house.

You might buy a house and then personal/work circumstances beyond your control mean that you have to sell it and buy an identical house 40 miles away. In theory, you could end up doing this 5 times, ending up with an identical house with still no equity yet, but with an added 4 hefty chunks of 'moving tax' to pay based on 'assets' that they have never actually had.

Tenants can move freely as they wish once their agreed term is up (I realise that they are sometimes forced to against their wishes because the landlord refuses to renew) and NEVER have any similar 'moving tax' to pay.

In the spirit of fairness, are you going to campaign against stamp duty payable on anything but the increase in property sales/purchase value (which is still not an actual asset anyway until the mortgagee has gained any equity) - on the grounds that it's a tax that tenants are never forced to pay?

It’s not the only regressive tax we have. VAT is regressive as well. Personally I’d rather just see the likes of VAT and council tax abolished and increases in income tax. No one will for for that though because if people actually worked out how much they pay in tax they would baulk at it

You are using their services: you pay for it: I’m happy to pay council tax for you but then I’ll just increase your rent
Wtaf? It’s a skivvy society these days

Rates didn’t include water, you had separate water rates. There are plenty of very wealthy people who rent.

Why should the owner of a home worth £50000 in a deprived town in the north pay a tax and not someone paying £8000 per month rent in London?

I think op is a troll or one of those people who believe that homes should be free to everybody

I can't comment on the 'troll' suspicion, but how nice would it be if real life were actually like an Enid Blyton book - where you walk through the forest, find a house you like and just decide to move in?!

you're missing out. We not only get pie charts but they're coloured. It sure makes all the difference.

Not sure. People dont really yawn pie charts anymore they arent as great as people think. Maybe that's the issue?

You cant work out the angle on the one chart

Op what you are saying doesnt make sense. Anyone pays towards the seevicea they use. End of

@nrpmum There hasn’t been a road fund tax in UK since 1937
Roads are funded by council tax and general taxation

@Goodnightseamer
When I started work PAYE was at 30% and if I added 10% to my PAYE and didn’t pay council tax now I would be able to pay 42% PAYE and still have the same money in my pocket

We used to get people coming into our shop demanding to know why they had to pay VAT on some of the goods.
We get people on Ebay demanding to know why we charge for postage.
I've also met people who believe that if you buy an item for £5, the seller gets to keep £5, and it makes them feel resentful.

I don't get the resentment. Systems aren't perfect and the more complicated they get the less perfect they become. They work tolerably well most of the time for most of the people that use them, and thats the best you can hope for.

To this end all you need to know is that if the landlord had to pay the council tax, yes?
Then they would pass the cost on to the tenant, yes?
And therefore the tenant would still have to pay council tax.

Except your system would disadvantage tenants who are not liable for council tax.
Which is why the system runs this way and not your way.

What a bonkers thread..

OP - if you want to live somewhere and not pay Council Tax - go and move somewhere where the landlord charges you more to live there but tells you no council tax fees.

People who live in houses pay council tax - whether they own or rent for the local services such as planning, transport, highways, police, fire, libraries, leisure and recreation, rubbish collection and disposal, environmental health and trading standards etc

I'm sure you'd want emergency services, right? Someone has to pay for them - why not you?

It’s just another money making scheme. I don’t get the argument that those that rent shouldn’t have to pay? It’s for stuff like recycling, waste collection. Whether you rent or own a property, you still get the sand service.....!

It’s just another money making scheme.

Yes, that is the point of taxation. To raise money to pay for public services.

OP, have you got your knickers in a twist because you've just been told you are liable to pay council tax?

I only ask because I was faced with a similar line of incensed outrage from a younger resident when dealing with council tax enquiries last week. Council tax had come as a rather unwelcome surprise.

You do seem full of 'knowledge' but lacking in awareness of how the system works at the same time.