TAP seeks to Cancel Council Tax for Renters
- Tom Burgess
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
London, 9 June 2025 — Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) has launched a major new campaign calling for the abolition of council tax for renters, a move that would relieve financial pressure on over 10 million UK households and inject fairness into one of the country’s most regressive taxes.
Currently, renters—who make up 36% of all households—are required to pay council tax, regardless of income or wealth. TAP argues that this is both unjust and unsustainable and is one way to ease the pain for those below the Poverty Line.
“Council tax punishes the poorest in our society,” said Tom Burgess, Executive Director for TAP. “It’s based on outdated property values from 1991 and takes no account of a person’s actual income or ability to pay. Renters, often among the lowest earners, are shouldering a disproportionate burden. That must change.”
A Regressive and Broken System
Council tax is widely acknowledged as a regressive tax. The poorest 10% of households pay around 7% of their gross income in council tax—compared to just 1.5% for the richest 10%. Support schemes vary by local authority and often fail to provide adequate relief.
The TAP proposal would save the average renting household £1,620 a year, a life-changing boost in disposable income—especially during a cost-of-living crisis. With an average household income of £35,000, this reform would be the equivalent of a 6% tax-free pay rise for renters and much more than that for lower income families.
A Fairer Alternative
The campaign outlines how the £17 billion shortfall in council tax revenue from removing renters could be offset by:
Shifting the burden to landowners and homeowners, who benefit most from rising property values (the cost of an average home goes up more than the cost of the average council tax),
Or recalibrating council tax bands to reflect modern property values and ownership status, not outdated 1991 valuations.
TAP emphasises that homeowners would still benefit from an updated and fairer system, while renters—many of whom are young families, low earners, and key workers—would finally get a break from an unjust charge.
TAP believes that it is pointless taxing people who have no money as it only makes matters worse. TAP wants to ensure that those 14 million people below the Poverty Line are not further burdened with financial stress which reduces the income they have available for basics like food and heating. While we acknowledge that Council Tax support is available for those on low incomes, it needs to be applied for and why take with one hand and give with another. Just abolish council tax for those in poverty. However, this would also require means testing so better just to abolish for all renters for the reasons stated above.
TAP supports the Fairer Share campaign which seeks to replace Council Tax and Stamp Duty with a Proportional Property Tax levied on property owners based on the value of their property. TAPs proposal is a measure that could be bring quick relief to those renters who are struggling with the cost of living.
Call to Action
TAP is calling on MPs, councillors, civil society groups, and members of the public to support this transformative reform. The campaign aims to reshape the national conversation on how we fund local government—with fairness, compassion, and economic justice at its heart.
About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers Against Poverty is a UK-based independent advocacy group dedicated to tackling poverty, inequality, and social injustice by promoting economic policies that have a direct effect on reducing poverty and the unnecessary financial hardship. TAP’s sister organisation and partner is Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more truth respect and compassion into political life
For media inquiries, interviews, or to support the campaign, please contact:
Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against Poverty
Partner & sister organisation: www.compassioninpolitics.com
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