Freeman on the Land challenges to the legality of Council Tax
Dundee City Council is aware of a number of misleading articles and templates that are available online about the legality of Council Tax. We would urge anyone considering using them to seek proper legal advice.
The Freeman on the Land movement and similar groups believe that they are only bound by contracts and laws they have consented to. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the administration and collection of Council Tax.
Payment of Council Tax is not optional and does not require your consent or a contractual relationship with the council.
Freeman on the land arguments have no basis in law. They have been considered and ruled against by the courts. Anyone choosing not to pay their Council Tax will have recovery action taken against them.
Council Tax legislation is publicly available on the government website.
Dundee City Council is the Local Authority for the City of Dundee under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 and is authorised by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to impose Council Tax. Liability for Council Tax in Scotland is determined by Section 75 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Recovery procedures are governed by the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992.
For questions about Acts of Parliaments (statutes) or laws please contact a legal professional rather than the council.
While we do our best to answer all relevant questions about Council Tax, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to lengthy queries based on arguments with no merit in law. These enquiries take up an excessive amount of staff time (at the expense of the taxpayer), impact on the work of the council and disadvantage other service users.