Perth and Kinross Council is poised to write off more than £800,000 of outstanding debts.
Officials are proposing to wipe out unpaid council tax, rent and parking fines.
In a report to go before the strategic policy and resources committee, head of finance John Symon said the move was a “last resort” after all attempts at recovery had been exhausted.
He said certain debts would be written off for “accounting purposes only” and that other unpaid charges would still be pursued.
The proposal would write-off £388,271 owed in council tax. The local authority said that would amount to just 0.4% of the money due for the 2015/16 financial year.
Rent charges of £281,607 owed by former tenants and nearly £18,600 in garage and lock-up fees would also be cleared.
Other debts that could be waived including £112,794 of fines issued at council-operated car parks, although not those run by private firm Smart Parking.
Around £17,000 of housing service charges provided to homeless clients in temporary accommodation would also be written off.
In his report, Mr Symon said: “The debts… have progressed through the debt recovery process using the various legislative procedures available for each type of debt to collect the amounts outstanding.
“The amounts that still remain due, after the exhaustive recovery procedures have been undertaken, are included for write-off as a last resort.”
He added: “Should any additional information be received, the debt will be written back and every effort will be made to collect the outstanding debt whenever possible.”
Committee convener Ian Miller said: “If people are in receipt of a service provided by the council, then they are expected to pay for it and do so in a timely fashion.
“Every year, the majority of people do just that and I am pleased that they take this responsibility seriously.”
He added: “Council Tax collection rates for Perth and Kinross is a prime example of this: The 2015/16 collection rate for the area was 97.27%, making it one of the highest in Scotland.
“If people fail to pay what they owe the council, then they are potentially impacting on the level of service we will be able to provide to other people int he future.”
