The Assembly received a report supported by a presentation from the Divisional Director of Finance on the calculation of the Council Tax Base for 2013/14 and information on powers available to the Council to set locally determined discounts.
In debating the matter, Members noted that this was the fifth year running that Council Tax had been frozen and how important this support was to the residents of the borough.
The Assembly agreed that:
1. in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Council as its Tax Base for the year 2013-14 shall be 39,955.66 Band ‘D’ properties, following approval of the Council Tax Support Scheme and new rules on empty properties set out in the report entitled ‘Localising Support for Council Tax in England – Final Scheme’ and presented to Assembly on 14 January 2013;
2. discounts and exemptions applied in calculating the tax base as recommended in the report named above and those prescribed by statute;
3. no locally determined discounts based on categories of property or occupier be awarded for 2013-14. This is consistent with previous decisions of the Council; and
4. there should be no award of reductions for prompt payment during 2013-14. This is consistent with previous decisions of the Council.