Who pays Council Tax

Council Tax and Freeman on the Land

The Freeman on the Land and other similar movements wrongly believe that they are only bound by contracts and laws they have consented to.

The administration and collection of Council Tax is enforced by legislation and not contract law or alleged rights under common law.

We reserve the right to refuse to respond to lengthy enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments with no basis in statute. These use our resources at the expense of other taxpayers.

Council Tax liability

Liability for Council Tax is determined by The Local Government Finance Act 1992:

  • we issue a Council Tax Demand Notice (the bill) which creates a debt
  • it is not dependent on, and does not require, either your consent or a contract with the council
  • it does not require a signature or agreement from a resident  as it is a tax, not a contract

Freeman on the land arguments have been considered and ruled against by the courts. For more information see ‘Freeman on the Land’ jailed for failure to pay Council Tax.

Action we will take

We take action against anyone refusing to pay Council Tax including:

  • summons to appear before the Magistrates
  • attachment of benefits or earnings
  • use of Enforcement Agents to collect the debt

In extreme cases refusal to pay Council Tax can result in a prison sentence.

How to correctly check and challenge your Council Tax bill

You can find out how to correctly check and challenge your Council Tax bill in Council Tax Appeals.

Council Tax and VAT

Council Tax is deemed outside the scope of VAT and we are unable to provide a VAT invoice.

Our VAT number is 214 5587 64.

Welwyn Hatfield Council is a local authority within the Public Sector and does not have a company number.

Council Tax legislation

The legislation and regulations that cover Council Tax are available at Legislation.gov.uk.

They include but are not limited to:

Acts of Parliament and Statutes

Acts of Parliament are Statutes which are set out the law.

Questions about Acts of Parliament or laws should be directed to a legal professional, not the council.

You can find details of qualified lawyers on the Law Society website.