Council Tax

Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your recent request for information detailed below. I have detailed Council's responses alongside your original questions and I trust you find the information of use.

http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100002/200...
Kind Regards
Jane Corrin
Information Manager

http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200... Complaints procedure available here

This information supplied to you is copyrighted to Wirral Council and continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other reuse, for example commercial publication, would require our specific permission, may involve licensing and the application of a charge.

From: Noncor Poratez [mailto:[FOI #25197 email]]
Sent: 29 December 2009 16:19
To: InfoMgr, FinDMT
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Council Tax

Dear Wirral Borough Council,
Please will you let me know how many people have been prosecuted by the courts for their faliure to pay Wirral council tax.

Wirral Council has recorded figures from 2007 which are shown below
Summonses issued 2007/08 17,811
2008/09 19,391
2009/10 currently 16,413
Total 53,615

Please will you let me know whether you use a court de facto, or a
court de jure in relation to your prosecution of people who have
not paid council tax.

Wirral Council uses a Magistrates Court.

Finally, I am of the understanding that council tax is unlawful,
whilst it may be legal (statute) it is fundamentally unlawful.
Lawful always trumps legal.

Wirral Council have a legal duty under the Local Government Act 1992 and various Statutory Instruments to levy and collect Council Tax. If any person deemed to be responsible for the payment of Council Tax disagrees, they have the right of appeal, in writing, to the Appeals and Technical Team within the Council Tax Section. If the appeal is not upheld, the person can appeal further to an independent Valuation Tribunal, although payment of Council Tax must be made pending any appeal.

If any person deemed to be liable does not pay Council Tax as demanded of them, reminder notice(s) will be sent. Further failure to pay will lead to the person losing their right to pay instalments and a final notice will be issued. If full payment is not then made, a summons including up
to £62.00 costs will be sent.

At a scheduled Magistrates Court hearing, the Council will formally apply for a liability order which gives the Council numerous powers of enforcement which include the use of bailiffs and attachment to earnings orders.

If a person believes that Council Tax is unlawful and if they feel they have a legal defence against the award of a liability order, they can attend the court hearing and appear before the Magistrates.

I assume my understanding to be correct, therefore, I understand
that Wirral Council has unlawfully collected council tax from me
for many years and has on some occasions threatened me with
bailiffs. Therefore, as I understand that council tax is unlawful
and Wirral Council have been acting unlawfully, please will you let
me know as to what 'form' I may complete in order for yourselves to
repay me the unlawful tax you have demanded from me for many years.

As per the detail supplied above regarding our legal duty, there is no form to supply to you.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Noncor Poratez

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Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email below. Your request for an internal review was
referred to our Deputy Director of Finance. Please see response below.

As I believe you have been advised in recent days, The Freedom of
Information Legislation encompasses the right for requestors to ask for
recorded information. Were your request asked for recorded information,
it was supplied to you. Any other personal opinions or general
information you choose to supply to us in your request fall outside of the
remit of FOI legislation. You have been advised of the procedures in
place regarding the legal duty to collect Council Tax and the procedures
that are followed regarding non payment of Council Tax. I believe your
request was answered fully and the Council has no more recorded
information to give you.

You have the right to complain to the information Commissioner, if you are
dissatisfied with the outcome of this internal review contact details
below:-

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane

Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Fax: 01625 524510 [1]www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Etc

Dear Wirral Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of

Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Borough
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Council Tax'.

In your information you supplied to me, you write: "If a person
believes that Council Tax is unlawful and if they

feel they have a legal defence against the award of a liability
order, they can attend the court hearing and appear before the

Magistrates."

I feel that this information is incorrect. Whilst it may be correct
for a large number of people who are willing to accept to be

Governed by a government, I do not accept to be governed. As far as I
know, I do not have any contractual obligations to pay council

tax.

You write that I should attend a court hearing and appear before the
magistrates. If I do such a thing, then I will be giving my

consent to be under the courts jurisdiction and also be giving
implied consent that I am to be governed.

Please provide me with such information as to how I can cancel or
void the liability order on myself gained by yourselves.

I have no contractual obligation with yourselves and as far as I am
aware - the court orders can only be granted if a person submits to

the jurisdiction of the court. I do not accept jurisdiction from a
Magistrates Court.

Thanks for your time.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is

available on the Internet at this address:

[2]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours faithfully,

Noncor Poratez

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your recent request for information detailed below. I have
detailed Council's responses alongside your original questions and I trust
you find the information of use.

Kind Regards

Jane Corrin

Information Manager

[3]http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200...
Complaints procedure available here

This information supplied to you is copyrighted to Wirral Council and
continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non commercial
research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other
reuse, for example commercial publication, would require our specific
permission, may involve licensing and the application of a charge.

From: Noncor Poratez [[4]mailto:[FOI #25197 email]]

Sent: 29 December 2009 16:19

To: InfoMgr, FinDMT

Subject: Freedom of Information request - Council Tax

Dear Wirral Borough Council,

Please will you let me know how many people have been prosecuted
by the courts for their failure to pay Wirral council tax.

Wirral Council has recorded figures from 2007 which are shown below

Summonses issued 2007/08 17,811

2008/09 19,391

2009/10 currently 16,413

Total 53,615

Please will you let me know whether you use a court de facto, or a
court de jure in relation to your prosecution of people who have not paid
council tax.

Wirral Council uses a Magistrates Court.

Finally, I am of the understanding that council tax is unlawful,
whilst it may be legal (statute) it is fundamentally unlawful. Lawful
always trumps legal.

Wirral Council have a legal duty under the Local Government Act 1992 and
various Statutory Instruments to levy and collect Council Tax. If any
person deemed to be responsible for the payment of Council Tax disagrees,
they have the right of appeal, in writing, to the Appeals and Technical
Team within the Council Tax Section. If the appeal is not upheld, the
person can appeal further to an independent Valuation Tribunal, although
payment of Council Tax must be made pending any appeal.

If any person deemed to be liable does not pay Council Tax as demanded of
them, reminder notice(s) will be sent. Further failure to pay will lead
to the person losing their right to pay instalments and a final notice
will be issued. If full payment is not then made, a summons including up
to £62.00 costs will be sent.

At a scheduled Magistrates Court hearing, the Council will formally apply
for a liability order which gives the Council numerous powers of
enforcement which include the use of bailiffs and attachment to earnings
orders.

If a person believes that Council Tax is unlawful and if they feel they
have a legal defence against the award of a liability order, they can
attend the court hearing and appear before the Magistrates.

I assume my understanding to be correct, therefore, I understand that
Wirral Council has unlawfully collected council tax from me for many years
and has on some occasions threatened me with

bailiffs. Therefore, as I understand that council tax is unlawful and
Wirral Council have been acting unlawfully, please will you let me know as
to what 'form' I may complete in order for yourselves to repay me the
unlawful tax you have demanded from me for many years.

As per the detail supplied above regarding our legal duty, there is no
form to supply to you.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Noncor Poratez

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...
3. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200...
4. mailto:[FOI #25197 email]