By Councillor John Pentland Cosla finance spokesman

The council tax was introduced in 1993 following the demise of the discredited poll tax, which had been brought into force hurriedly and without proper consideration of how it would operate.

Councillor John Pentland: "A case for property revaluation"

The council tax is a considerable improvement on the former poll tax and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) believes there is no case for abolishing it after so short a period.

However, this does not mean it could not be improved and made more acceptable.

The level of council tax bills varies greatly throughout the UK but it is in England where the biggest increases have recently occurred, resulting in a campaign for change and widespread publicity about the tax south of the Border.

The average Band D tax increased by 12.9% in England in 2003-04, whereas in Scotland the rise was a much more modest 4%.

One of the advantages we have in Scotland is a three-year-budgeting scheme which encourages greater efficiency in the planning of expenditure.

It also gives council taxpayers an indication in advance of the council tax levels councils are planning over that period.

Collection levels

To be viable and effective, local taxes need to be fair, easily understood, take account of ability to pay, be administratively efficient and difficult to evade or avoid. The council tax generally meets those criteria.

Non-payment was a serious problem when the poll tax was in operation.

Recent statistics produced by the spending watchdog, the Accounts Commission, showed year-on-year improvements on collection levels, with the latest figure standing at an average of 91.5%.

Taxes that are property based are easier to collect than ones that are not.

Cosla believes an improved council tax would be in the best interests of council taxpayers and the councils who provide the services

The council tax is 50% property based. It includes a personal element and a "sole resident provision" which allows a 25% discount in cases where only one adult is resident.

The improvements Cosla would like to see include an increase in the number of property bands.

There is a disproportionate number of properties - nearly 50% - in the lower A and B bands.

Any expansion of bands should be concentrated at the lower level, thus creating greater equity and helping poorer households.

There is also a case for a property revaluation as the capital values of the properties are out of date - they are based on prices that applied in 1991.