21 Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions PDF 32 KB
To receive a report on the proposed technical changes to Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions.
Minutes:
The Director of Corporate Services and the Revenue Services Manager reported on the Government’s proposals to give billing authorities greater discretion over the reliefs from council tax available in respect of second homes and some empty properties along with other potential reforms of the council tax system. These changes would be introduced from 1 April 2013.
There were a wide range of options to be considered which were outlined in the report.
Arising from Members’ questions and comments, the following points were noted:
The Executive Member for Culture, Corporate Services and Public Protection stated that he would welcome suggestions that the Commission wished to make regarding the various options.
Although individual Members made a variety of suggestions, there was general agreement that maximising income in respect of second homes and empty properties was preferable to cutting services in order to bridge the anticipated funding gap.
The Borough Treasurer explained that pooling of Business Rates with other Berkshire Authorities was being explored and, if it was advantageous, the Executive would be asked to approve it.
The Commission thanked the Officers for their report.