A story not covered by the Scottish Daily Mail

PAUL FAKER reports on a very unusual tax "scandal".

Millions of ordinary, hard working families in England and Wales have paid hundreds of pounds more in tax than their Scottish counterparts over the last five years, according to new figures which have not attracted the interest of the Right Wing media.

Readers of the Scottish Daily Mail and other Conservative-supporting newspapers are used to reading about the wealthier classes in Scotland suffering perceived fiscal hardship at the hands of the country's 'progressive' SNP Government whenever its ministers gently use a few of the meagre tax-raising powers handed down by Westminster to improve the lot of the working poor.

But there has been no mention of the latest council tax tables produced within days of each other by the UK and Scottish administrations. For they show the average household in England and Wales will have paid £1,125 more to their local authority between 2019/20 and 2023/24 than Mr & Mrs MacAverage.. That works out at an average 'saving' of £227 per year for those families fortunate enough to reside north of the border.

However, the lack of coverage by the Mail and others means this significant difference in council tax levels has failed to spark fury in leafy Englandshire. Yet it is a safe bet that had the boot been on the other foot Associated Newspapers would have made sure the well-heeled citizens of rural Perthshire were given sufficient ammunition to write letters to the editor lambasting Scottish local government.

Here are the average council tax bill per dwelling for the two countries:

Financial year                 England                       Scotland              

2019/2020                        £1,327                             £1,147                             

2020/2021                        £1,385                             £1,201

2021/2022                        £1,428                             £1,198

2022/2023                        £1,493                             £1,238

2023/2024                        £1,578                             £1,302

Five year total                  £7,211                             £6,086

The statistics do not include water and sewerage charges. According to the most recent figures Scottish households pay an average of £369 per year for these services. The equivalent annual charge for the average dwelling in England where the water industry is in private hands is £448. 

Our research then turned to the respective council tax payment figures for Northumberland and Scottish Borders, the two local authority areas which cover territories on either side of the England-Scotland boundary.

Here the difference in the amount paid by the occupants of an "average" dwelling was even larger than the national split. The five-year total in Northumberland came to £7,241, no less than £1,237 above the equivalent for Scottish Borders of £6,004. So, the mean council tax demand on residents in communities only a few miles apart but on either side of the border differed by a significant £247.40. Surely this must have sparked fury in Northumberland by now!

These are the respective figures for the neighbouring council areas:

Financial year                  Northumberland           Scottish Borders 

2019/2020                         £1,330                           £1,131

2020/2021                         £1,391                           £1,184

2021/2022                         £1,430                           £1,183

2022/2023                         £1,502                           £1,223

2023/2024                         £1,588                           £1,284

Five year total                   £7,241                           £6,004  

All of these statistics are freely available on Government websites should the Mail or Express care to take a look.