Cash-strapped Fife Council is still chasing more than £25 million of unpaid council tax through the courts.
Last year the local authority pursued arrears of £45 million, nearly £600,000 of which was written off, according to figures obtained by The Courier under the Freedom of Information Act.
Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Glenrothes have by far the largest number of homes who have avoided paying council tax over the past year.
Kirkcaldy tops the list as more than 1,000 homeowners were taken to court during 2013, with council tax payments amounting to £625,000 still outstanding.
Dunfermline was in second place, with 986 non-paying households taken to court and £624,000 still outstanding, while Glenrothes had 895 households and £560,000 outstanding. The next highest is Rosyth which had £181,000 of council tax payments outstanding and 302 homes taken to court.
Fife Council has frozen council tax charges since 2008 and the levy provides around 18% of the local authority’s income. The council needs to save £100m over the next four years and it has admitted that around 700 jobs could go as it tries to balance the books.
Fife Council revenues service manager Les Robertson said: “As a council we have a statutory duty to collect council tax and the council’s budget is used to provide vital services and relies on the collection of monies due.”