How The Imposition of Council Tax Was and Remains Unlawful
According to the ruling of the Supreme Court in Miller & Anor, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5 , by way of Schedule 2, section 1a of the now repealed European Communities Act 1972, the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, which imposed Council Tax on British residents, are of no legal effect.
1(1)The powers conferred by section 2(2) of this Act to make provision for the purposes mentioned in section 2(2)(a) and (b) shall not include power—
(a)to make any provision imposing or increasing taxation.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/68/schedule/2/enacted
This means that every increase in Council Tax and prosecution for non-payment is completely unlawful because the legal power to do so is not derived from primary legislation or prerogative powers that existed prior to the enactment of the 1972 Act.
Here is what the Supreme Court ruled in Miller:
46. It is true that ministers can make laws by issuing regulations and the like, often known as secondary or delegated legislation, but (save in limited areas where a prerogative power survives domestically, as exemplified by the cases mentioned in paras 52 and 53 below) they can do so only if authorised by statute. So, if the regulations are not so authorised, they will be invalid, even if they have been approved by resolutions of both Houses under the provisions of the relevant enabling Act – for a recent example see R (The Public Law Project) v Lord Chancellor [2016] AC 1531.
Therefore, since the statute enabling Council Tax did not exist until the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and because the prerogative power did not exist to create them, its impositions are void ab initio.
This means that any individual can lawfully withhold Council Tax on that ground.
Furthermore, as some of you will already know, the ‘Liability Orders’ which are so aggressively enforced by every local authority are never issued by a Magistrate or a Justice of the Peace, which is tantamount to maladministration at best and misconduct in public office, fraud and embezzlement at worst.
However, the scandalous ramifications don’t end there because this rule of law also apples to EVERY new tax created by the UK government and every increase in the percentage of income / capital taxed that wasn’t enabled by primary legislation or prerogative power before 1972 is a nullity at law, in the absence it being EU-derived legislation.
New Taxes Introduced Without Legal Authority
In addition to the Local Government Finance Act 1992, here is a list of new taxes introduced since 1972:
- Bank Payroll Tax (2010)
- Diverted Profits Tax (2015)
- Apprenticeship Levy (2017)
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy (2018)
- Residential Property Developer Tax (2022)
- Multinational Top-Up Tax (2023)
- Domestic Top-Up Tax (2023)
- Electricity Generator Levy (2023)
- VAT on Private School Fees (2025)
Evaluation of the Taxes
- Bank Payroll Tax (2010):
- UK Legislative Basis: Finance Act 2010, Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
- EU Connection: A one-off tax on bankers’ bonuses, introduced post-2008 financial crisis. No EU directive or regulation mandated this tax. The EU had no specific legislation on bonus taxation, and this was a UK-specific measure.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Diverted Profits Tax (2015):
- UK Legislative Basis: Finance Act 2015, Corporation Tax Act 2009.
- EU Connection: Targets multinational profit-shifting (e.g., “Google Tax”). Introduced before the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD, 2016), which addresses similar issues. The UK acted unilaterally, influenced by global OECD BEPS discussions, not EU law. ATAD later harmonized anti-avoidance rules, but this tax predates it and was not mandated by the EU.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Apprenticeship Levy (2017):
- UK Legislative Basis: Finance Act 2016.
- EU Connection: Funds apprenticeship programs, a UK domestic policy. No EU directive required or influenced this levy. Skills funding is a national competence, and no equivalent EU tax exists.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy (2018):
- UK Legislative Basis: Finance Act 2017.
- EU Connection: A tax on sugary drinks to combat obesity. No EU directive mandated sugar taxes, though some member states (e.g., France) introduced similar measures. Health-based consumption taxes are a national policy, outside EU tax harmonization.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Residential Property Developer Tax (2022):
- UK Legislative Basis: Corporation Tax Act 2009, Finance Act 2021.
- EU Connection: Introduced post-Brexit (2022) to fund cladding remediation post-Grenfell. No EU involvement, as it’s a UK-specific issue. The Corporation Tax Act 2009 was enacted during EU membership but is a domestic consolidation, not EU-driven.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Multinational Top-Up Tax (2023):
- UK Legislative Basis: Corporation Tax Act 2009, Finance (No. 2) Act 2023.
- EU Connection: Implements OECD Pillar 2 (15% minimum corporate tax). The EU adopted a Pillar 2 Directive (2022), but the UK, post-Brexit in 2023, implemented this via OECD commitments, not EU law. The Corporation Tax Act 2009 is domestic legislation.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Domestic Top-Up Tax (2023):
- UK Legislative Basis: Corporation Tax Act 2009, Finance (No. 2) Act 2023.
- EU Connection: Part of OECD Pillar 2, like the Multinational Top-Up Tax. Implemented post-Brexit, driven by OECD, not EU directives. No EU authority applies.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- Electricity Generator Levy (2023):
- UK Legislative Basis: Corporation Tax Act 2009, Finance (No. 2) Act 2023.
- EU Connection: A post-Brexit tax on windfall profits from electricity generation. No EU directive applies, and similar windfall taxes in EU states are national policies. The Corporation Tax Act 2009 is domestic.
- EU-Derived?: No.
- VAT on Private School Fees (2025):
- UK Legislative Basis: Value Added Tax Act 1994, Finance (No. 2) Act 2024.
- EU Connection: The Value Added Tax Act 1994 implements the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC, formerly the Sixth VAT Directive), which governed UK VAT rules during EU membership. The Directive allows member states discretion over exemptions (e.g., education), and the UK chose to exempt private school fees until 2025. The decision to remove the exemption post-Brexit (2024) is a UK policy, but the VAT framework itself was shaped by EU law, as the 1994 Act was enacted to comply with EU VAT requirements. This tax’s authority is rooted in the EU-derived VAT system, even though the specific change is domestic.
- EU-Derived?: Yes, via the Value Added Tax Act 1994, which implements the EU VAT Directive.
Conclusion
With the possible exception of EU derived VAT, none of those taxes have any legal effect and the collection of them is tantamount to fraud by government policy.
However, on the basis that VAT takes its supposed authority from an EU diktat and the 1972 Act’s repeal in January 2020 implicitly removed the legal basis for it, there is also a strong argument that it is as unenforceable as the other unlawful taxes imposed.
Given my article yesterday about the potential for a nationwide Direct Tax Strike to strip the illegitimate UK government of up to 49% of the money it steals from the People to pay for the wheels of tyranny to continue turning, this piece comprises the first draft of the lawful basis for not paying each of the taxes featured above, naturally including Council Tax.
For those who missed it, here is yesterday’s article about how the British are now unofficially an Oppressed People, with the right to resist under international law by any means necessary: