Section 18 – Discounts
87.This section disapplies existing provisions in the 1992 Act about discounts from council tax in relation to chargeable dwellings in Wales and inserts new provision about such discounts that are applicable in relation to Wales only.
88.Sections 6 and 9 of the 1992 Act contain provision about liability to council tax in different circumstances. Section 18(2) and (3) amend these sections in so far as they provide for certain persons to be disregarded for the purposes of establishing liability where those persons would otherwise be joint and severally liable. Under sections 6 and 9 as they are amended by section 18(2) and (3), persons will be disregarded for these purposes if they are disregarded for the purposes of a discount in relation to a dwelling in Wales under new section 11E(5) (see below) and are of a description prescribed by the Welsh Ministers in regulations. Section 11 of the 1992 Act provides for nationally set council tax discounts. Section 18(4) amends section 11 of the 1992 Act so that it continues to apply only in relation to England and section 18(5) inserts new section 11E which makes provision in relation to discounts in relation to Wales.
89.Section 11E(1) provides powers for the Welsh Ministers to prescribe by regulations the amount of a discount to which a chargeable dwelling may be subject (or the method for calculating that amount) where either the criteria set out in section 11E(2), or such other criteria as may be prescribed by regulations under section 11E(3), are met in respect of that dwelling. Section 11E(4) clarifies that regulations under section 11E(1) may prescribe a different amount of discount (or different provision for calculating an amount of discount) in relation to different criteria. It also confers on the Welsh Ministers a power to make provision about the amount of council tax payable in respect of a dwelling in respect of which more than one discount applies.
90.The criteria set out in section 11E(2)(a) are equivalent to those set out in section 11(1) and (2)(b) of the 1992 Act but section 11E(2)(b) enables the Welsh Ministers to provide by regulations for other conditions or criteria that must be met for the amount of council tax payable on a chargeable dwelling to be subject to a discount under section 11E(1). Section 11E(6) provides that these conditions or criteria, and also any that are prescribed under section 11E(3), may prescribed by reference to:
the type or physical characteristics of, or other matters relating to, dwellings;
the circumstances of, or other matters relating to, any person who is liable to the amount of council tax concerned.
91.Section 11E(5) confers a power on the Welsh Ministers to prescribe by regulations who is disregarded for the purposes of the discounts stated in section 11E(2) of the 1992 Act. This power replaces the power in section 11(5) of the 1992 Act which will continue to apply in relation to England only.
92.Section 18(5) also inserts new section 11F into the 1992 Act. This replaces section 12 of the 1992 Act which is omitted by section 18(6). Under section 11F(1) and (3), the Welsh Ministers may, in respect of a financial year, prescribe classes of dwelling to which a discount under section 11E applies by reference to:
the type or physical characteristics of, or other matters relating to, dwellings;
the circumstances of, or other matters relating to, any person who is liable to the amount of council tax concerned.
93.Under section 11F(2), for any financial year in respect of which such a class of dwellings is prescribed, a billing authority may determine to disapply or reduce the discount in question in relation to dwellings in its area (or such part of its area as the authority may specify).
94.Section 11F(4) to (7) make supplementary provision including a requirement that any determination made by an authority under this section is published electronically.
95.Sections 12A and section 12B of the 1992 Act provide billing authorities with discretionary powers to charge higher amounts of council tax to long term empty dwellings and dwelling periodically occupied respectively.
96.Section 18(7) amends section 12A of the 1992 Act, which makes provision for billing authorities to determine that the amount of council tax payable is increased by a percentage of up to 300. As amended, section 12A will no longer require the billing authority to disapply the no-resident discount as the flip side of the billing authority determining to increase council tax under section 12A (because the no-resident discount is repealed for Wales). Instead, section 12A is amended so that the authority must calculate the amount of council tax payable by, first, adding the percentage increase and then subtracting any discount that applies (see section 12A(1)). A discount will apply for these purposes if it has been prescribed by the Welsh Ministers in regulations made in accordance with section 11E(3) and has not been disapplied by the billing authority under section 11F(2)(a). The amount of the discount that the billing authority subtracts will be the amount of discount as prescribed by the Welsh Ministers in regulations made under section 11E(1) or, if less, as determined by the billing authority under section 11F(2)(b). Section 18(8) makes the same amendment to section 12B of the 1992 Act in relation to properties that are periodically occupied.
97.Subsections (9) to (11) make consequential amendments to other provisions in the 1992 Act.
