William Eichler 13 December 2023

Brum requests permission to increase council tax over 5%

Birmingham City Council is set to apply for permission to increase council tax by more than 5% to help address a £300m budget gap.

The local authority was forced to declare itself effectively bankrupt in September and is facing a £87.4m overspend for 2023/24 and a budget gap of around £300m by 2025/26.

The city council also has a £750m equal pay bill.

The council has confirmed it will apply for Government permission to raise council tax by more than the 5% – the amount councils in England can put up the levy without consulting residents.

The amount of the increase is yet to be confirmed.

If this article was of interest, then check out, 'Righting the wrongs of equal pay', 'Can local government take much more?', 'Preventing future Section 114 notices' and 'How to fix local government finance'.

#Council tax #Finance #Section 114

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