Zack Polanski accused of having 'cavalier attitude' following row over houseboat council tax

Zack Polanski has been accused of having a "cavalier attitude" following an ongoing row over paying council tax for his houseboat.

The Greens leader indicated that he did not cough up the tax while aboard the Hackney vessel due to suffering from "financial hardship".

In a statement before the Greater London Authority (GLA), Mr Polanski ceded that he should have taken "greater care" over his tax matters while living on the boat.

He claimed to be unaware that he needed to pay tax due to his "unconventional living arrangements" spurred on by economic struggles.

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The ex-hynotherapist, however, denied that he had intended to dodge legal obligations.

As a result, the Monitoring Officer ruled that Mr Polanski had not broken any rules as he was not deemed to be acting in his capacity as an Assembly Member at the time of the breach.

They added that the Local Government Finance Act did not apply to the GLA.

If the legislation applied, Mr Polanski's failure to pay tax would have been considered a criminal offence if he dodged the levies while voting on matters regarding budgets.

Despite being cleared by the GLA earlier today, Neil Garratt, the Conservative London Assembly member for Croydon and Sutton, hit out at the Greens leader for "avoiding consequences".

Mr Garratt submitted the initial complaint over the possible scandal last month.

"Throughout this entire sad saga, Mr Polanski has avoided consequences the same way he avoided council tax: through happy accidents and gaps in legislation," Mr Garratt fumed.

He added: "It is beyond parody that a left-wing politician who will take to the stage to demand other people pay their share of taxes, has then gone home and not paid his own or endeavoured to find out what tax he owes.

"But when a politician can have such a cavalier attitude with his CV, or even something as simple as where he lives, it does a disservice to politics.

"I hope he will reflect on the road that has led him to this point."

Last month, it was revealed that Mr Polanski had failed to pay council tax for at least three years while living on the vessel, docked in an east London marina.

But, when confronted about the tax affairs, he insisted it was not necessary to contribute to the state because the houseboat was not his home.

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Instead, he said he lived at another address with his partner where they paid the necessary tax.

But he fell under further fire when the electoral register showed that he put down the boat as his residential address.

Earlier today, in Mr Polanski's statement, he said: "I wish to make absolutely clear that there was never any intention on my part to evade council tax, avoid legal obligations, or obtain any improper financial advantage.

"Any failure to appreciate the position arose solely from a misunderstanding of what was required in relation to an unusual and unconventional living arrangement.

"I have personal experience of financial hardship and housing insecurity. Having lived through periods of economic difficulty on a limited income, I understand first-hand the challenges faced by many Londoners."

The standard annual salary for a London Assembly Member is £62,761, with the median London wage sitting at just below £50,000.

"My previous living arrangements reflected those circumstances rather than any attempt to avoid financial obligations," the politician added.

He admitted "greater care could have been taken in understanding the practical implications of my unconventional housing arrangements".

Nevertheless, he "strongly" refuted that his failure to pay tax for three years required any questioning of his "honesty or integrity".

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