Islington council is taking a zero tolerance approach to residents who willfully refuse to pay their council tax. They are being told if you don’t pay - we will see you in court.<br><br>Already 40 Islington residents have been made bankrupt for not paying their council tax and the council plans to continue this hard line approach in the future.<br><br>“Money owed to the council is money owed to every resident in this borough and we won’t tolerate it anymore.” Councillor Arnie Gibbons, executive member for resources stated.<br><br>“While some may view it as a drastic step – it is the only option left for dealing with people who just refuse to pay.”<br><br>“Because the majority of Islington residents do pay their council tax we feel that we are duty bound to target cheats and recoup the payments owed. We aren’t targeting those in genuine financial difficulty rather a very small minority of willful cheats.”<br><br>It is the ‘won’t pay’ rather than ‘can’t pay’ people that the council is targeting. Homeowners, owing more than 1 years worth of council tax and who are not in receipt of either housing or council tax benefit will be pursued for non-payment.<br><br>Even though the council has kept Islington council tax below the London average the people not paying their share of council tax could result in other honest residents facing increased council tax bill to cover the shortfall.<br><br>Bankruptcy is serious. As well as the substantial costs that are incurred it also means a loss of personal financial control and may result in houses and possessions being sold to discharge the debt.<br><br>To date this action has resulted in £100,000 being recovered for the benefit of the Islington community.<br><br>Islington Council wants to speak to anyone who has an outstanding council tax balance – if we can help we will, council tax staff can be contacted on 0207 527 2633.<br><br>Payments can be made by credit or debit card on 0207 527 8000 available 24 hours.<br><br>The message is clear if you have avoided paying in the past or simply pay late you should think again.
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009