COVENTRY City Council are facing a £27million council tax black hole dating back to 2019.
The Council is waiting on more than 50,000 outstanding tax payments that were due in the past five years.
Accident Claims Advice found through an FOI request that the Council has £27,168,392.57 uncollected debt.
Of that total, £12,362,285.99 has not been collected from 24,879 accounts in 2023/24.
It is the largest amount that the Council has been unable to recoup during the financial year across the past five years.
At the end of 2021-22, £10,742,563.59 had not been collected from 25,966 accounts.
As of April this year, 4972 accounts are still in arrears for unpaid Council Tax going back to 2020-21, leaving the Council short of £2,781,254.73.
Coventry City Council have imposed a 4.9 per cent increase for 2024/25.
A spokesperson from the Councils said: “Coventry, like most other Local Authorities, has seen an increase in council tax arrears over the course of the COVID pandemic and more recently the cost of living crisis.
“Coventry’s council tax arrears continue to compare favourably to authorities of a similar size and demographic.
“At the end of 2023/24, expressed as a percentage of council tax collectible, Coventry had the 10th lowest level of arrears of the 36 metropolitan authorities in England.
“Coventry has a robust collection and enforcement regime to ensure that those who can afford to pay council tax are subject to all of the sanctions legally available to the Council.
“At the same time, the Council uses its discretion to support our most financially vulnerable households so that individuals and families are not pushed into financial hardship as a result of council tax charges.
“Coventry’s level of arrears when compared to similar authorities provides some indication that we are achieving an effective balance between tackling those who won’t pay but also supporting those who can’t pay.”
