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Original poster

to think DB should not be liable for council tax

32 replies

LionelWatson · 22/03/2015 22:50

DB is an athlete - training with a view to getting into the GB squad - he doesn't get any funding or payment and does not work. Just trains and trains and trains.

He is about to move back to live with our DM who works and gets the 25% council tax reduction.

AIBU to think he won't be liable for council tax.

OP posts:

traceybaybee · 22/03/2015 22:51

When i was working i got a 25% discount being the only adult in the property if anyone came to stay i lost it

Fairenuff · 22/03/2015 22:52

What does he live off if he has no work?

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 22/03/2015 22:52

Why wouldn't he be liable?

Lilwelshyrs · 22/03/2015 22:53

Isn't council tax to do with the property and not the number of people in the property?
He'd have to declare that he's living there but I don't think that means he has to pay council tax as it shouldn't change the amount...
How on earth does he manage to afford anything if he gets no money?!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 22/03/2015 22:53

If he is on benefits he can get council tax benefit but she will lose the reduction. If he isn't on benefits she will lose the reduction and he will have to pay.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 22/03/2015 22:54

Or she will have to pay full amount

Magmatic80 · 22/03/2015 22:54

Presumably he generates rubbish that gets collected, uses streetlights to see when outside, hopefully doesn't require police but is happy 999 is available to call if needed, etc, etc?

LaurieFairyCake · 22/03/2015 22:54

What Fanjo said

He will likely get council tax benefit along with his JSA

pocketsaviour · 22/03/2015 22:55

He needs to get a sponsor. Or a job.

Magmatic80 · 22/03/2015 22:56

Sorry, my post was quite grumpy there, but can he not work?

TopOfTheCliff · 22/03/2015 22:57

She only gets the single person discount if she lives alone or with a dependent. He is able bodied and should be contributing to the cost of rubbish disposal and the rest of council services. How he supports himself is his choice but sponging of relatives does not make him immune from paying his share.

FishWithABicycle · 22/03/2015 22:57

YABU. It's not a case of individual people not having to pay. Council tax is levied per property mostly regardless of how many adults live there - a 4 bed house has the same rate whether 2 adults or 8 adults live there. There are limited situations where the council tax is reduced by 25% which your DM currently qualifies for but will cease to qualify for when DB moves in. Unpaid athletes are not on this list.

gamerchick · 22/03/2015 22:59

That's what I was wondering ^^

Does he enter a stasis field when not training OP?

I'm not trying to be snitty, I'm wondering why you think he is exempt and yes the single person discount will be suspended.

Original poster

LionelWatson · 22/03/2015 23:03

He doesn't claim any benefits as he's not available for work.

OP posts:

Fairenuff · 22/03/2015 23:05

But he does still use all the services though, OP, so he should pay his taxes. How does he pay for food, rent, clothes, etc?

sleeponeday · 22/03/2015 23:06

I'm afraid she will lose her discount, and unless he's entitled to benefits including council tax benefit, then it will be due in full. Being an athlete doesn't buy a free pass, no.

Stinkyfeet · 22/03/2015 23:06

Then it's up to your mum if she wants to subsidise him. If not then he will have to find some income in order to make up the shortfall when she loses her 25% discount when he moves in.

LaurieFairyCake · 22/03/2015 23:15

Then he'll have to pay it out of his savings (he's living on something right?) or rely on his mum subsidising him for the council tax.

expatinscotland · 22/03/2015 23:27

YABU

gamerchick · 22/03/2015 23:30

But he exists right? he takes a shit in the morning like the rest of us doesn't he.. generates rubbish.. would like a fireman to rescue him if he's trapped in a fire or has an accident and needs to be taken to hospital and treated right?

He uses services so has to pay council tax and if he isn't claiming benefits then it's assumed he has the means to pay.

gallicgirl · 22/03/2015 23:37

Your mum is liable as she is the owner occupier or tenant.
She will lose her 25% discount when your brother moves in as it is his sole or main place of residency. The discount is only available when a property is occupied by one adult or when all other occupants can be disregarded eg; full time students, severely mentally impaired.

As far as I can tell your brother can't be disregarded in any way so your mum will be liable to pay 100%. It's up to her whether she asks your brother to contribute.

Your brother won't be able to claim council tax benefit as he's not the liable person. However, if your mum's local council still operates a second adult rebate scheme, she could claim that based on your brother's lack of income.

FishWithABicycle · 22/03/2015 23:37

The point we are making is that even though he has no income, he still has expenses that have to be paid in any case. His food, his travel expenses, the clothes he wears, insurance etc - none of this is (currently) given to him free by the taxpayer because he has chosen a career path which means zero income for a time. Council tax is on the list of things-that-are-not-free, and should be paid for from the same source. If he succeeds in his ambition and start receiving support as part of the GB squad then that is the point when persons better qualified to know than us MNers have decided that his talents are worthy of taxpayer-subsidy. Until that point, he is not.

Yambabe · 22/03/2015 23:43

Your DB is not liable for the extra council tax, your DM is.

Just who is supporting him and paying his bills while he is training?

If your DM has allowed hm to move back in and is covering all costs then that's her decision. WE may see him as a sponger but he is her DS and it's her choice to pay his bills and support him. If he has another source of income then he should be covering his costs, including council tax, but again that is down to him and your DM to sort out between them.

TheChandler · 22/03/2015 23:47

Well, if he's not on the GB squad, but just one of the many athletes trying to get there, and isn't on any funding, why can't he work or study like many of the other athletes doing so? Some of the most serious athletes on the squad even combine it with working (e.g. Andy Vernon), most combine it with studying for a degree at some point.

I think the general point that Council Tax is too expensive and the exemptions too limited is valid though. Is he really not entitled to Council Tax benefit on income grounds only, or is it tied to other benefits?

gallicgirl · 22/03/2015 23:53

He's not entitled to council tax benefit because he's not the liable person. Only DM can claim.

However his lack of income would be taken into account in any claim made by your mother. He doesn't need to be claiming dwp benefits.

When might he be assessed for GB squad?

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