The Scottish Government has introduced tax legislation Council reform groups and rates from April 2017.
The legislation will implement the proposals announced by the SNP government in March. Properties that fall under high tax board strips (E, F, G and H) would pay more as a result of these bands coefficient increases in relation to the middle band (D) properties. The government estimates that this will lead to annual average increase of about GBP100 (USD132) for Zone E properties, GBP200 for F, GBP335 for band G and GBP517 range for range H.
The circuit board of reducing the tax would apply to families with low income, having children, and the government will introduce an exemption for families with low income living in conditions with high added value.
Frozen council tax, which has been in place since 2007, will be removed from April 2017. Local authorities will be able to increase the tax up to a maximum of three per cent per year.
The government expects to raise an additional reforms GBP100m a year in income or GBP500m, during the term of the current parliament. This money will be invested in the school education system in Scotland.
Finance Minister Derek Mackay said that the legislation “will not only protect household income and make local taxation fairer, they will also benefit thousands of young people across Scotland, as stated in our terms of education delivery. Despite the fact that there will be no change in the three four Scottish households, in terms of what they are paying council tax as a result of these reforms, schools across the country will notice a difference, it will make a significant investment.”