This is available at legislation.gov.uk as follows: 

• Local Government Finance Act 1992
• The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 (as amended)
• Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002
• The Water and Sewerage Services to Dwellings (Collection of Unmetered Charges by Local Authority) (Scotland) Order 2014 (as amended)
• The Water and Sewerage Services to Dwellings (Collection of Unmetered Charges by Local Authority) (Scotland) Order 2020
• The Water and Sewerage Services to Dwellings (Collection of Unmetered Charges by Local Authority) (Scotland) Order 2023

The Sovereign Citizen movement and other groups (including the freemen of the land and Sovereign Scot movements) who are opposed to the payment of council tax, frequently contend that they are not required to pay as they do not recognise statute law.

Refusal to pay council tax on the basis that you have not agreed to this or claim not to be bound by the relevant legislation, will not avoid your liability to pay. This will result in costs being added to your bill and action being taken by the council to recover outstanding sums, including through the courts.

Before you make any decisions based on the information circulated by these groups, please read the information on this page and, if necessary, take independent legal advice from a solicitor or an official organisation such as Citizens Advice Scotland.

Declaring yourself to be a Sovereign Citizen (or equivalent) does not exempt you from paying council tax. The liability of a person to pay council tax is determined by the legislation we have referred to above.

The arguments that Sovereign Citizens do not have to pay council tax (or are exempt from other laws) have been determined by the courts in various countries around the world and found to be invalid.

Please note, that following incorrect and misleading advice that recommends non-payment of council tax is likely to cause additional costs to be added to your council tax liability.

If you are struggling to pay your council tax, you can contact us through your online account to discuss setting up a payment arrangement.

Further information is available below:

• Problems paying your council tax
• Debt advice
• Welfare rights services
• Managing your money