Commission says council tax in Scotland 'must end'
(about 2 hours later)
Several possible ways of replacing the council tax are set to be spelled out in an official report.
The current council tax system in Scotland "must end", the specially set up Commission on Local Tax Reform has concluded.
The suggestions come from a commission set up by the Scottish government and the local government body Cosla.
It looked at alternatives and outlined three options, one based on property, the others on land and income.
The report will not recommend any particular option but hopes to inform the debate ahead of next year's Holyrood election.
The cross-party body believed any new system should continue to be one of "general tax" rather than a "system of charges for specific services".
Scottish councils typically raise 15p of every pound they spend from the council tax.
Scottish councils typically raise 15p of every pound spent from council tax.
The Commission on Local Tax Reform was announced last year by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The report has not recommended any particular option but hopes to inform the debate ahead of next year's Holyrood election.
All the major parties were represented on it, apart from the Conservatives who chose not to take part.
The current system contributes £2bn to help pay for local government expenditure such as refuse and recycling, education, roads maintenance and leisure facilities.
The report - due to be unveiled in Edinburgh - will spell out several detailed options for possible replacements.
The commission outlined three alternatives which could bring in a similar sum of money;
It will look at whether they would be fairer, more efficient and stable, as well as how they might be implemented.
The reform group was set up by the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in February 2015 and was tasked with examining alternatives that would "deliver a fairer system of local taxation".
Amongst the options the report may potentially outline are a local income tax, a land value tax and major modifications to the council tax.
A total of 2.4 million households in Scotland pay council tax.
The report will argue that the prospect of reform is "an opportunity that must not be missed."
Writing in the introduction to the report, the co-chairs of the commission, Marco Biagi MSP, minister for local government and Councillor David O'Neill, president of Cosla, will say: "We do not advocate a single preferred alternative as that ultimately must be a political choice, but we do expect that Scotland will be offered alternative systems of local taxation in the Scottish Parliamentary election in May 2016."
They will add: "Our intention is that this report serves to inform the design of those alternatives - by any political party - and most importantly, also helps the public understand the implications of the choices they are offered."
Academic research
The commission received nearly 5,000 pieces of evidence from a range of individuals and organisations.
It also published academic research into international examples of local taxation and analyses of responses received by members of the public to its online questionnaire and written call for evidence.
The council tax was introduced in 1993 to replace the controversial poll tax, or community charge which, in turn, replaced the old system of domestic rates.
Councils get the bulk of their money from the Scottish government. The council tax makes up a relatively small - but significant - proportion of their budgets.
The council tax has been frozen across Scotland since 2007. In the 2007 Scottish elections both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats had advocated replacing the tax with a form of local income tax.
