‘Council tax holiday’ considered by West Midlands council
People struggling to afford council tax because of the impact of coronavirus could pay nothing until June under plans being considered by the city council.
Birmingham City Council is considering the idea of a council tax “holiday” which would mean people can delay their first instalment of council tax for the 2020/21 year until June 28.
This would mean the ten instalments would run from June to March rather than April to January as it would in other years.
Anyone struggling is asked to claim council tax support in the first instance but to contact the council if they are not eligible.
Courts are not currently holding hearings for unpaid council tax, and residents are advised to pay their council tax, claim council tax support or contact the council if they are having difficulty.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “The council will consider a variety of payment options including a council tax payment ‘holiday’ for those who need it.
“People in financial difficulties can claim council tax support which is the ‘safety net’ for these situations.
“We will be constantly reviewing our plans carefully in the light of the current pandemic.
“[The ‘holiday’] would normally be a variation on a plan for people to pay their council tax in full by March 31, 2021.
“This could mean, for example, changing the first instalment from April 1 to June 28 – thus still enabling the tax to be paid in ten instalments by the end of the financial year.
“We advise people to claim council tax support if they have difficulty in paying their council tax. If they are not eligible, they should contact the council.
“The courts are currently closed for Council Tax Hearings. We do not have any details of when this is likely to change and in the meantime our advice is that people should pay their council tax – claim council tax support or contact us if they have difficulty .”
The scheme would potentially help people struggling from the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis alongside Universal Credit, council tax support or Government schemes such as the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.
It was reported that nearly a million people have successfully applied for universal credit in the past two weeks of lock down.
There are normally about 100,000 applicants for the benefit in any given two-week period.
