Issue - meetings

Report number: CAB/WS/20/069

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

Lead officer: Rachael Mann

Recommended to Council (15 December 2020):

That:

1.           The tax base for 2021 to 2022, for the whole of West Suffolk be 55,339.97 equivalent Band D dwellings, and for each of the predecessor areas be: Forest Heath 18,572.56 and St Edmundsbury 36,767.41, as detailed in paragraph 2.6 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.

2.           The tax base for 2021 to 2022 for the different parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.

3.           The Assistant Director (Resources and Performance) be given delegated responsibility to make changes to the tax base figures as a result of any Government announcements pertaining to local council tax support as detailed in paragraph 2.5 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.

(Report number: CAB/WS/20/069)

The Cabinet considered this report which explained that the council tax base was the total taxable value at a point in time of all the domestic properties in the Council’s area. It was a yearly calculation and represented the estimated number of chargeable dwellings after allowing for exemptions and discounts, projected changes in the property base and after applying an estimated collection rate.

The council tax base was used in the calculation of council tax.  Each authority divided the total council tax income it needed to meet its budget requirement by the tax base of its area to arrive at its band D council tax. This is then used to work out the council tax for properties in each of the other bands.

Orders had been laid allowing West Suffolk to harmonise the council tax of Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury over a period not exceeding seven years. Because of this, it was also necessary to calculate tax base figures for the areas formerly covered by Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council (the ‘predecessor areas’).

Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, referred to paragraph 2.6 of the report which set out the resulting tax base figure for council tax collection purposes for the whole of West Suffolk, expressed in terms of the number of Band D equivalent properties, which was 55,339.97.  The tax base figure was analysed further across individual town and parish councils to form their tax base figures for the purpose of budget setting and determining the parish band D tax levels in each of those areas.  The town/parish figures were set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

Recommended to Council (15 December 2020):

That:

1.           The tax base for 2021 to 2022, for the whole of West Suffolk be 55,339.97 equivalent Band D dwellings, and for each of the predecessor areas be: Forest Heath 18,572.56 and St Edmundsbury 36,767.41, as detailed in paragraph 2.6 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.

2.           The tax base for 2021 to 2022 for the different parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.

3.           The Assistant Director (Resources and Performance) be given delegated responsibility to make changes to the tax base figures as a result of any Government announcements pertaining to local council tax support as detailed in paragraph 2.5 of Report Number CAB/WS/20/069.