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Last week, we reported that council tax would be going up in all 33 of London’s boroughs. Most hiked their taxes up by around 5 percent as they try to get themselves out of cash crises, but it’s not just London councils that are having to deal with crippling costs – it’s an issue for councils all over the country.
Now, it’s been revealed that towns in London’s commuter belt could see increases of up to 25 percent in their council tax from April. That’s five times as much as the national average increase and would add more than £450 to an average household’s annual bill.
So far, council leaders in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have indicated that they need to there needs to be big surge in bills in order for them to avoid going bust. They said they’ve inherited a ‘horror show’ of £230m of debts.
Elsewhere, Hampshire County Council is introducing a 15 percent increase while bill-payers in Slough could see an 8 percent rise.
We know what you’re thinking – isn’t there a 5 percent cap on these things? There is. But authorities can ask the government for permission to raise taxes by more than that if there is a high likelihood that they could go bankrupt. Hampshire council and Windsor and Maidenhead council have both applied for exemption from the cap. A decision from the government is expected by mid-Feb.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: ‘No decisions have been made on council tax increases and we will only consider agreeing to requests for rises above 5 percent in exceptional circumstances, in line with the previous government’s position.
‘Councils are ultimately responsible for setting their own council tax, and we will put taxpayers at the forefront of any decision.’
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