Local authorities are examining the Scottish independence electoral register in a bid to chase down unpaid council and decades-old poll tax debts.
An unprecedented level of public engagement saw 97% of those eligible across Scotland signing up to vote, amounting to almost 4.3 million people.
Officers are now trawling through the records in a bid to recover the almost £300m still owed in poll tax debts to town halls. The controversial levy was introduced to Scotland by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 – twelve months earlier than in England and Wales – before being scrapped in 1993.
Edinburgh alone is thought to be owed £50m in unpaid council tax.
A spokesperson from Edinburgh City Council told the Edinburgh Evening News the local authority would be pursuing debtors though the newly expanded electoral roll.
‘The council uses all the data available to it to collect outstanding debts,’ the spokesperson said.
