Issue - meetings

Report number:     CAB/WS/22/070

Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah Broughton

Lead officer: Rachael Mann

Recommended to Council:

(13 December 2022)

That:

1.           The tax base for 2023 to 2024, for the whole of West Suffolk be 57,987.01 equivalent band D dwellings, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of Report number CAB/WS/22/070.

2.           The tax base for 2023 to 2024 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/22/070.

(Report number CAB/WS/22/070)

The Cabinet received 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 calculation of the tax base for Council Tax setting purposes consisted of three stages:

1.           Calculation of the tax base for central government purposes as at 3 October 2022 (DLUHC return – CTB).

2.           Calculation of the tax base for council tax setting purposes by adjusting the band D equivalents to reflect changes in the tax base as a result of Local Council Tax Support Scheme changes (as set out in Report number CAB/WS/22/069, which was also on this agenda), projected changes in the property base and predicted collection rates.

3.           Analysis of band D equivalents over each of the parish areas in order to determine individual parish council tax bases.

Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Property, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, and referred to paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/22/070 which explained that the resulting tax base figure for council tax collection purposes, expressed in terms of the number of band D equivalent properties, was 57,987.01 for 2023 to 2024. This was an increase of 580.67 on the tax base for the current year of 57,406.34.

The tax base figure for West Suffolk, as outlined in paragraph 2.6 of Report number CAB/WS/22/070 was analysed further across the 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 and Parish tax base figures were set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

Recommended to Council (13 December 2022):

That:

1.           The tax base for 2023 to 2024, for the whole of West Suffolk be 57,987.01 equivalent band D dwellings, as detailed in paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/22/070.

2.           The tax base for 2023 to 2024 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/22/070.