FOR the fifth year in a row, Cornwall Council fell short of its expected Council Tax income by more than £10-million.

Cornwall residents fell short on Council Tax payments by nearly £14-million in 2023/24, latest data shows.

Accident Claims Advice sent FOI requests to councils across England, Scotland and Wales to discover how much council tax had not been collected since 2019-20.

Data gathered from Cornwall Council found that £13,806,485.58 was not collected in 2023/24. It marks a five-year high in uncollected tax, while a 97 per cent collection rate is a drop on the previous two years.

In 2022/23, 97.2 per cent of taxes were collected, leaving the council short by £12,047,071.34. It was a similar story in 2021/22, when residents were unable to pay £11,311,389.77 worth of council tax.

The Covid-impacted 2020/21 year saw the council record a 96.8 per cent collection rate, meaning £12,261,348.52 worth of tax was not paid.

Councils with social care duties can raise council tax by 4.99 per cent annually, including a 2 per cent social care precept, without triggering a referendum. Other councils are capped at 2.99%.

Cornwall Council opted to raise taxes by the maximum 4.99 per cent for 2024/25. It means that a household could face a bill of up to £4,685.08.

For those who miss paying their council tax and do not qualify for financial support, the council’s enforcement measures start with issuing a reminder and can result in a court summons.

A liability order, which can be ordered by the courts, gives councils the ability to collect outstanding Council Tax debts from wages or certain benefits payments.

Cornwall Council has taken steps to recoup unpaid tax, issuing 105,647 summonses in the past five years. Of the 23,875 summonses raised in 2023/24, 20,561 cases led to a liability order being granted. The number of liability orders is a five-year high, and double the 10,814 orders granted in 2020/21.

17,058 cases were sent to enforcement companies with the aim of capturing unpaid council tax.