Council Tax and 'Freeman of the Land'

Council Tax is not a service charge. A popular misconception is that it is a charge for having waste bins collected, it is not. It is instead a Statutory Tax levied on occupiers (and some owners) of properties. Council Tax is not a direct charge for individual services received, the amount collected is paid into a central fund to enable the council to provide services for the benefit of the community as a whole. 

'Freeman on the Land' and similar groups misguidedly believe that people are only bound by contracts and laws where consent is given. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the administration and collection of Council Tax.

There is no consent required as to whether you are liable for Council Tax and being a 'freeman' does not exempt anyone from paying Council Tax.

Liability for Council Tax is determined by Section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This statute  law, created by and enacted by Parliament and has received the assent of the Crown and subsequent statutory regulations, sets out a local authority's rights to demand and collect Council Tax to fund services and who is liable to pay.

Your liability for Council Tax does not depend on, nor requires your consent or the existence of a contract with the council. Any claims to the contrary is factually incorrect and there is no legal basis upon which to make this argument.

Occasionally we receive queries from residents who are convinced that using an archaic law means they don't have to pay Council Tax and there are many misleading articles and templates on the internet regarding the legality of council tax. Anyone drawing on these for advice should exercise caution and seek proper legal advice before using them as a defence against Council Tax liability based on contract, consent and common law.

Whilst we do our best to answer all relevant enquiries about Council Tax in a timely manner, we will not respond to lengthy spurious enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments that have no basis in statute which use our resources at the expense of other taxpayers.