Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report on the council tax base for 2014/15. The calculation of the tax base was a legal requirement and an essential part of the tax setting process.
Cabinet noted that before the council tax could be set by the council, it had to calculate its council tax base. This was an estimate of the taxable resources for the district as a whole and for each parish area. The council tax base for the district had to be notified to Oxfordshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner by 31 January 2014. Each parish and town council was also notified of the figure for its area. The legislation required that the council tax base was approved by full Council.
RECOMMENDED: to Council to agree:
(a) that, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 2012) and the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended)
i. from 1 April 2014 the council tax discount to be applied on unoccupied and substantially unfurnished dwellings (Class C in the Regulations) be 100 per cent for one calendar month and zero per cent thereafter. Where an unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling has already received the current 25 per cent discount for more than one calendar month on 1 April 2014, it shall receive zero discount. Where an unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling has received a 25 per cent discount for less than one calendar month on 1 April 2014, it shall receive a 100 per cent discount for the number of days required to reach one calendar month and then zero per cent discount thereafter. In considering whether a dwelling has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for any period, any one period not exceeding six weeks, during which it was not unoccupied and substantially unfurnished shall be disregarded.
(b) that the report of the head of finance for the calculation of the council’s tax base and the calculation of the tax base for each parish area for 2014/15 be approved;
(c) that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Vale of White Horse District Council as its council tax base for the year 2014/15 be 46,640.5;
(d) that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Vale of White Horse District Council as the council tax base for the year 2014/15 for each parish be the amount shown against the name of that parish in appendix 1 of the report of the head of finance to Cabinet on 6 December 2013.