Issue - meetings

Report number:     CAB/WS/23/058

Portfolio holder: Councillor Diane Hind

Lead officer: Rachael Mann

Recommended to Council:

(19 December 2023)

That:

1.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025, for the whole of West Suffolk be 58,684.97 equivalent band D dwellings, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.

2.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025 for the different parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 to Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.

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 2 October 2023 (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 (CAB/WS/23/057), 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 Diane Hind, Portfolio Holder for Resources, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, and referred to paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/23/058 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 58,684.97 for 2024 to 2025. This was an increase of 697.96 on the tax base for the current year of 57,987.01.

The tax base figure for West Suffolk, as outlined in paragraph 2.6 of the report 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: (19 December 2023)

That:

1.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025, for the whole of West Suffolk be 58,684.97 equivalent band D dwellings, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.

2.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025 for the different parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 to Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.