Households across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will be paying a new level of council tax with the new financial year getting underway, Council tax makes up two thirds of the local authority’s budget.
16 per cent is made up from business rates and 18 per cent is made up of grants. The council will then allocate a budget for service areas and what they will do with the money.
Why do resident have to pay council tax?
Council tax is a compulsory charge on properties in England, Wales and Scotland. The charge came into effect in 1993 following Parliament passing the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Properties were assessed and placed into bands from A to H based on their value, with those properties in band A being the cheapest and those in band H being the most expensive. The value of a property is based on the price the property would have sold for on the open market on April 1, 1991, in England.
Council tax replaced the Community Charge, also known as the ‘Poll Tax’, which was a fixed tax on individuals with limited ability to be adjusted based on financial circumstances.
Who has to pay council tax?
Anyone over the age of 18 who owns or rents a property has to pay, but there are some exceptions to this including for university students, those on certain apprentice schemes, live-in carers, student nurses, diplomats and foreign language assistants who are registered with the British Council.
People living alone are entitled to a 25 per cent discount on their bill as are properties only occupied by students. Discounts are also available if someone living in the household has a disability.
Normally it is paid in 10 monthly instalments, followed by two months of not making any payments, but it can be paid over a 12-month period.
How much is council tax going up by?
Usually, local authorities are allowed to increase council tax by a maximum of 4.99 per cent without holding a referendum. This is split up into 2.99 per cent in core council tax and a two per cent adult social care precept.
BCP Council voted to increase council tax for the 2026/27 financial year by 6.7 percent after being given permission from the government to increase the tax by an additional 1.7 percent without holding referendum.
The council has previously said that the additional £5million generated from this additional 1.7 per cent increase will be put towards paying off the debt accumulated from delivering Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services which is funded by the Dedicated Service Grant (DSG).
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