Districts are pushing the Government to allow them to increase council tax by more than 3% or £5 without a referendum.
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has long believed the previous flexibility granted by ministers for their members to raise council tax by £5 is now ‘worthless to the vast majority’ of its members as this is less than 3% for only 30 local authorities and below inflation.
It has strongly argued for the £5 allowance - which has not increased for almost a decade - to double to £10 even if only some councils will go beyond the existing threshold.
DCN finance spokesperson Baroness Taylor said the total budget gap for district councils would be at least £600m in 2023-24 and increasing the maximum fixed cash council tax threshold was ‘necessary in order for us to retain our cherished services’.
A DCN spokesperson added: ‘This [increasing the £5 to £10] would allow the district sector to generate around £30m of extra income but have a modest additional impact for individual taxpayers – less than 8p per week for Band D households.’
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
