Landlords targeted in St Edmundsbury Council Tax shake up
Farewell to Geoff Rivers St Eds chief executive. FL; Alex Wilson, John Griffith, Sandra Pell, Geoff Rivers and MP Matthew Hancock.
Landlords of empty homes in St Edmundsbury previously exempt from paying Council Tax will have to pay 90 per cent of the bill from April.
And those who leave a home empty for more than two years will be walloped with a 150 per cent bill in a move to bring more empty homes back into use.
Meanwhile owners of second homes will see their discount slashed from 10 to five per cent.
But the majority of us will not have to pay St Edmundsbury Borough Council any extra Council Tax after it announced another freeze – its fourth in five years.
Council leader John Griffiths MBE says it will also ‘cushion the blow’ of the Government’s 10 per cent cut to Council Tax Benefit funding.
But it does mean that people who can work but are on benefit, will have to pay 8.5 per cent Council Tax – roughly £2 a week.
Cllr Griffiths said ongoing work to share staff and services with Forest Heath would allow it to freeze Council Tax while maintaing services.
“We think we have come up with fairest budget we can,” said Cllr Griffiths.
It has had its Government grant cut by about five per cent to £4.513m and despite savings of £1.3m for next year, it estimates it will have to save a further £500,000 in 2014/15 and £1.1m the year after.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Friday 24 May 2013
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