Council Tax pays for the services the council provides to the people of Rochdale borough.
Your Council Tax also contributes towards Greater Manchester services. These are called precepts and have always appeared on your bill.
Our authority to charge Council Tax comes from the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
We have a responsibility to charge and recover Council Tax, but this doesn't mean it introduces a fiduciary relationship. A fiduciary relationship is a commitment to act in the best interests of another person or entity.
Your liability to pay
You don't have a choice of whether you are charged Council Tax. This is determined by law.
Council Tax does not require your consent or a contract with the council. The issue of a Council Tax Demand Notice (the bill) creates the debt.
It isn't a criminal offence to not pay Council Tax. However, it's a criminal offence to not supply information without reasonable excuse in response to a Request for Information. It's also a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly supply false information.
You can be imprisoned for up to 3 months if your failure to make payment is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect.
Whether a name is legal or fictional is irrelevant for the purposes of Council Tax. Freemen of the Land are still liable to pay Council Tax.
If you have any concerns over the charging of Council Tax, please seek professional legal advice.
Legislation related to Council Tax
The legislation that covers Council Tax can be found on the government's website and includes:
- Local Government Finance Act 1992
- Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
- Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011
Our authority to charge Council Tax comes from the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Requests for information
We do our best to answer all relevant questions about Council Tax. However, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments which use the council's resources at the expense of other residents.
- We explain how we use your data for Council Tax and benefits in our privacy notice. Council Tax and Benefits Privacy Notice
- If you'd like to know about the data that we hold, you can make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Freedom of Information requests
- If you have questions about liability, please follow the appeal process. Challenge or appeal your Council Tax bill
- If you have questions about Acts of Parliament or laws, including whether you are bound by Acts and Statutes, we'll direct you to seek professional legal advice.
- If you have any other questions about Council Tax, please read our questions and answers document. Questions and answers about Council Tax
