Record numbers registered to have their say in the vote on Scotland's future, which saw the highest turnout, at 84.6 per cent, of any UK poll since the 1951 General Election.
But now local authorities are being urged to take advantage of the high registration levels to recoup arrears from those who joined the electoral roll in the months leading up to the vote.
There are claims the unprecedented database created ahead of the September 18 vote is an opportunity for councils to uncover fraudsters and recover debts - some of which date back 20 years - from those who may have come off the roll to avoid detection.
Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed it is checking the updated database against households that receive the 25 per cent single person discount for council tax, in an effort to uncover cases in which it has been claimed inappropriately.
City of Edinburgh Council sources also confirmed checks would be carried out, comparing council tax records to the newly updated electoral roll, and more authorities are expected to follow.
Cosla, the umbrella group that *represents many councils, said local authorities were within their rights to use "whatever sources of information are available legally to pursue unpaid debt".
Although councils cannot pursue debts that are more than 20 years old, the period is extended by a further two decades if a warrant has previously been issued to collect unpaid bills.
In 13 of 21 council wards in Glasgow, there were 40,000 amendments to the electoral register between March and September 1 as members of the public updated their details or registered.
A Cosla spokesman said: "Every pound of debt collected is a pound for frontline services. Councils do not write off debts."
Councils move to collect unpaid tax from thousands who signed up for indyref vote | Herald Scotland
TBH I think they shouldn't bother to try collect. The limit in England is 6 years, dwarfed by comparison to the 20 years in Scotland. Perhaps it's time for the government there to change the law, which in reality would be the fairest thing to do. *shrug*
But now local authorities are being urged to take advantage of the high registration levels to recoup arrears from those who joined the electoral roll in the months leading up to the vote.
There are claims the unprecedented database created ahead of the September 18 vote is an opportunity for councils to uncover fraudsters and recover debts - some of which date back 20 years - from those who may have come off the roll to avoid detection.
Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed it is checking the updated database against households that receive the 25 per cent single person discount for council tax, in an effort to uncover cases in which it has been claimed inappropriately.
City of Edinburgh Council sources also confirmed checks would be carried out, comparing council tax records to the newly updated electoral roll, and more authorities are expected to follow.
Cosla, the umbrella group that *represents many councils, said local authorities were within their rights to use "whatever sources of information are available legally to pursue unpaid debt".
Although councils cannot pursue debts that are more than 20 years old, the period is extended by a further two decades if a warrant has previously been issued to collect unpaid bills.
In 13 of 21 council wards in Glasgow, there were 40,000 amendments to the electoral register between March and September 1 as members of the public updated their details or registered.
A Cosla spokesman said: "Every pound of debt collected is a pound for frontline services. Councils do not write off debts."
Councils move to collect unpaid tax from thousands who signed up for indyref vote | Herald Scotland
TBH I think they shouldn't bother to try collect. The limit in England is 6 years, dwarfed by comparison to the 20 years in Scotland. Perhaps it's time for the government there to change the law, which in reality would be the fairest thing to do. *shrug*
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