The Local Government Finance Act 1992, s13A relates to the Billing authority’s power to reduce amount of council tax as a matter of discretion in exceptional circumstances: It stipulates: (1) Where a person is liable to pay council tax in respect of any chargeable dwelling and any day, the billing authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated may reduce the amount which he is liable to pay as respects the dwelling and the day to such extent as it thinks fit.

(2) The power under subsection (1) above includes power to reduce an amount to nil.

(3) The power under subsection (1) may be exercised in relation to particular cases or by determining a class of case in which liability is to be reduced to an extent provided by the determination.]

In practice, do councils ever really use this discretion and is a subsequent reduction of a charge or increase of a discount something which is completely separate from Benefits and housing allowance? Is this discretion automatically employed by the Council when relevant or does it have to be specifically sought by liable persons through a special procedure?

Hi Lindawallace, that's an interesting question. I'm bumping this in the hope that someone knows the answer

Never come across it in my CTax dept or any of the other depts I've dealt with. Usually councils will only allow it if the councillors vote for it under exceptional circumstances - natural disasters etc.

exmple

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncdc.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2Fdocs%2Fh%2Fc%2FCA-----Report--21-Sep-2004-(Council-Tax---Local-Reduction-Discount-Scheme---North-Cornwall-Floods)-11-20-19.doc&ei=_AIWSOHuJ5y0QvDlkIwG&usg=AFQjCNHfTI3cyn_hVq2AMYTEOL8lYoGxJg&sig2=ZLVz6tGvThnJ_ofN7Jkj1Q

Never come across it in my CTax dept or any of the other depts I've dealt with. Usually councils will only allow it if the councillors vote for it under exceptional circumstances - natural disasters etc.

 

exmple

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncdc.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2Fdocs%2Fh%2Fc%2FCA-----Report--21-Sep-2004-(Council-Tax---Local-Reduction-Discount-Scheme---North-Cornwall-Floods)-11-20-19.doc&ei=_AIWSOHuJ5y0QvDlkIwG&usg=AFQjCNHfTI3cyn_hVq2AMYTEOL8lYoGxJg&sig2=ZLVz6tGvThnJ_ofN7Jkj1Q

If discretion is available for the a council to allow, then it is available period. Ostensibly a council must make it available when reasonable to apply it, or otherwise the council risks having a valuation tribunal take a decision within the ambit of the discretion. I don't see how a council can legally have discretion but also decide not to use it.