There is an outstanding Council Tax and Rent debt. It costs the council to chase this debt.
An alternative may be to offer a cash lottery – effectively a rebate – for frequent payers. Anyone who pays in a given month (or else just by DD) would be entered into the draw. The cash sum would have to be significant but not so large as to remove the aditional revenue generated.
City of Edinburgh council have announced they are doing this for DD payers only. I think their problem might be that winning a year’s free CTax will not be an incentive to non-payers! It would be better to term it a cash prize instead.
Â
From the Edinburgh website:Â
Win One Year’s Free Council Tax!
  Five lucky winners will win one year’s Council Tax for free in a very special competition.
All customers who sign up to pay their annual bill by direct debit will be entered into the exciting prize draw – which will take the burden out of paying the bill for a whole year.
There is still time to be in with a chance of winning this exclusive prize as all customers signed up before 31 May will be entered into the draw for free.
Councillor Phil Wheeler, Finance and Resources Convenor, said: “With everyone leading busier lives nowadays, paying council tax by direct debit definitely saves time and effort. It is convenient too as payments can be spread over 10 or 12 months. I would like to wish all the entries in the prize draw good luck in winning this exciting and valuable prize.”
More and more people seem to be signing up to pay by direct debit every year as it is both safe and flexible. Customers can also choose from 4 payment dates in a month.
The Council stopped accepting cash and cheque for Council Tax at the start of the 2010/11 financial year. By receiving customer’s payments by direct debit, the Council can improve the service we provide as less time and money is spent processing payments.
For further information and to set up a direct debit log on to: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/counciltax or call: 0131 469 5000.