The SNP was first elected in 2007 with a promise to scrap the Tory-imposed council tax system but has since dodged the issue.
A failure to reform the “broken” council tax system is condemning some Scots to live in poverty while “protecting” the wealthiest, a leading charity has warned.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said the levy, imposed by the Tories more than 30 years ago, was “outdated, regressive and desperately needs reform”.
The SNP was first elected to Holyrood in 2007 on a manifesto that included a promise to scrap the system, but successive ministers have since dodged the issue.
The charity is calling on all political parties to commit to major legislative change on council tax in their manifestos ahead of the Holyrood election.
In a briefing published yesterday, JRF analysts said the current system is “unfair by design” and disproportionately hits the poorest people in Scotland.
More than one in 10 households on the lowest incomes are behind on their council tax bills, while for those in higher value homes it acts as a tax subsidy.
The current system was introduced in 1993 with payment rates based on valuations from 1991. Financial pressure on council budgets means a tipping point has been now reached, the charity warned.
The JRF wants politicians to implement a “genuinely proportionate property tax” – but warned that a lack of consensus among the parties should not be used as an “excuse for inaction”.
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It comes at a time households across Scotland face the latest round of inflation-busting hikes to their council tax bills from April 1.
Councillors in Glasgow this week signed-off a 5.9 per cent increase, while households living in the Borders face paying 8.5 per cent more.
North Ayrshire residents are set for a seven per cent hike while those in Renfrewshire will pay 7.5 per cent. Several councils, including North and South Lanarkshire, have yet to announce their annual increase.
The single largest hike announced so far is 10 per cent in Moray and Aberdeenshire.
Chris Birt, Joseph Rowntree Foundation associate director for Scotland, said: “For more than three decades, Scotland has been saddled with a council tax system which is deeply unfair, as well as unpopular.
“It means that some people on low incomes are having to choose between heating, eating, or paying their council tax bill, at the same time as subsidising the wealthiest in society.
“We know that for the next Scottish Government, meeting the nation’s legally-binding, cross-party child poverty targets by 2030/31 will require bold action at scale.
“A fair tax on housing wealth is part of what is needed, by cutting through the budget constraints that have limited investment in radical solutions to poverty.
“That’s why the next Scottish Government must prioritise council tax reform to create the fiscal foundations for a fairer Scotland, and why all parties standing in this year’s election must bring forward proposals for major legislative change on council tax.
“We need to break a 30-year cycle of hoping a problem will just go away.”
Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, said: “The Scottish Government recently conducted a joint consultation with COSLA which explored potential reforms to the council tax system, supported by independent analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Throughout our discussions we recognised that any future changes must be grounded in evidence, and carefully assessed for their impact on households.
“The aim of our partnered work with local government, is to examine whether consensus around a unified position on council tax could be achieved – at present, consensus on reform doesn’t exist.
“The cost-of-living crisis continues to place burdens on households across the country and Ministers recognise this is unsettling for many people.
“That’s why more than £16 million has been allocated in the Scottish Budget 2026-27 to invest in the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice services, including over £2m for a specific council tax debt project.”
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