Monday January 12th 2026
Glasgow City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
Changes to council tax are “long overdue” as the current system is “unfair”, Glasgow is set to tell the Scottish Government.
A consultation is underway on the future of council tax in Scotland and possible options for reform.
Officials at Glasgow City Council have drawn up a response which suggests property values should be reevaluated every six years and a new national banding system, with 14 bands, introduced.
Council tax raises 18% (£377m) of Glasgow City Council’s funding. In a report to councillors, officials state council tax has “remained fundamentally unchanged since its introduction in 1993 and is still based on property values in April 1991”.
Councillors will be asked to approve the submission on Thursday. They will also decide whether to add any further views on potential changes to the tax.
The council’s proposed response states: “It has been recognised for many years that the council tax system in Scotland is regressive and based on out-of-date property valuations.
“Property taxation should continue to form part of the general system of taxation in Scotland but should be based on current property values and bands should be adjusted to reduce the regressive nature of the tax.”
It adds the current approach is “both unfair and difficult to understand, especially in the valuation of houses built since 1991” and there should be a “direct correlation between the current market valuation and the council tax band”.
Updating property values would be an “appropriate period to recognise material changes in property values and a cycle that avoids overlapping with the periodic non-domestic rates revaluations”, officials state.
They also believe council tax bands should be set nationally to “ensure both fairness and transparency”.
“Similar valued houses across Scotland should fall into the same council tax band and pay a broadly equivalent council tax with variations in council tax between council areas relating to local decisions,” the response adds.
Glasgow believes a 14-band system would address the “out-of-date property valuations and does the most to reduce the regressive nature of council tax”.
The report states a transitional relief scheme, to limit how much a household’s council tax bill can increase each year, should be in place to “allow taxpayers time to adjust to any increase”.
The response concludes: “The reform of council tax is long overdue, and its objective should be to provide a fair, less regressive and more transparent tax base for Scotland.
“This consultation addresses issues around valuation and the progressive nature of council tax. Further engagement around discounts and exemptions would be welcomed, especially in relation to mobile student populations.
“Reform should not impact on the resources available to any individual council and the block grant [from government] should be adjusted to reflect changes in council tax receipts in each local authority area.”
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