Report of:                 Head of Financial Services

Purpose: To set the “Council Tax Base” for 2017/18 as required by section 33 of The Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations

Recommendation: The Audit and Governance Committee are recommended to agree:  

a)            that the 2017/18 Council Tax Base for the City Council’s area as a whole is set at 44,623.4 (as shown in Appendix 1)

b)            that the projected level of collection is set at 98%   

c)            that the tax bases for the Parishes, and for the Unparished Area of the City (as shown in Appendix 2) be set as follows:

                   Unparished Area of the City                           37,300.3

                   Littlemore Parish                                                 1,754.0

                   Old Marston Parish                                             1,269.1

                   Risinghurst & Sandhills Parish                       1,444.1

                   Blackbird Leys Parish                                        2,855.9

                   City Council Total                                             44,623.4

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Financial Services asking them to agree the numbers required to set the “Council Tax Base” for 2017/18 as required by section 33 of The Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations.

The Committee noted the changes to the council tax base and the impact of discounts. With over 18,000 out of 61,000 houses claiming single person discounts, the council lost a significant portion of its potential tax base. They noted that recipients of discounts and reductions were required to confirm their eligibility annually and the investigations team pro-actively checked on empty houses as well as business properties not on the rating list or claiming charitable or empty property exemptions.

The Committee asked for a report setting out:

·         of the letters sent out to check eligibility, how many were returned with information leading to an increase in council tax due;

·         information on numbers of houses in each tax band and with/ without discounts to show how actual households translate into the ‘band D equivalent’.

The Committee resolved:  

a)    that the 2017/18 Council Tax Base for the City Council’s area as a whole is set at 44,623.4 (as shown in Appendix 1 of the report)

b)    that the projected level of collection is set at 98%

c)    that the tax bases for the Parishes, and for the Unparished Area of the City (as shown in Appendix 2 of the report) be set as follows:

Unparished Area of the City                                   37,300.3

Littlemore Parish                                                       1,754.0

Old Marston Parish                                                   1,269.1

Risinghurst & Sandhills Parish                             1,444.1

Blackbird Leys Parish                                              2,855.9

City Council Total                                                     44,623.4