Pay council tax ‘or be made bankrupt’
People who avoid paying council tax could be risking bankruptcy, according to a council official.
Grahame Lucas, head of finance at Worcester City Council, said the authority was still planning to take action against people who had not yet paid their taxes, although it had not yet made anyone bankrupt.
Government figures show that nearly 6,000 people across the UK were forced into bankruptcy by local councils in 2004-05, up from 1,000 people four years earlier.
Speaking to the Worcester News, Mr Lucas said: "Those figures haven't been affected by us because we haven't taken any bankruptcy proceedings yet.
"We have looked at cases though and have got some lined up where we will attempt it."
Mr Lucas urged people who had genuine problems paying their council tax to contact the authority directly, as it would clamp down on people who could afford it yet refused to pay.
Earlier this week, 75-year-old Richard Fitzmaurice, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, was jailed for 32 days for non-payment of council tax.
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