Where your Council Tax money goes
- Your Council Tax Bill
- How is the amount of council tax worked out?
- How much will you pay in 2008/09
- How Does Mid Beds spend its money?
- Has our spending changed since 2007/2008?
- Reductions and help with your Council Tax
Councillor Tricia Turner Leader, Mid Beds District Council writes:
'Each year Mid Beds collects your council tax on behalf of Bedfordshire’s public authorities, keeping only a very small amount to provide you with high quality services. Mid Beds takes only 7% of your council tax for our use, the County Council takes 74%, the Police Authority 9%, the Fire Service 5% and local town or parish councils an average of 5%. Mid Beds is one of the fastest growing districts in the country, recognised for its sound financial management and value for money. This year we are asking for only an extra 9p a week to expand our services to include extending our kitchen waste collection service, contributing towards new leisure facilities in the district, and extending the Bedford Credit Union to include Mid Beds.
In 2008/09 we will continue to focus on finding savings, delivering the services that our residents tell us are important and review spending proposals in areas of lesser priority. This year’s budget will again ensure the sound management of public money, bringing spending in line with income.'
Your Council Tax Bill
Mid Beds District Council collects the tax but 93% of it is collected on behalf of the County Council, Police Authority, Fire Authority and your local town or parish council to help pay for the services they provide.
The amount you have to pay depends on the market value of your home on 1 April 1991. All homes are allocated a Valuation Band by the Valuation Office Agency in Bedford, reflecting the value at that time. For further information on property bands follow this link:
The following pdf document contains a table that shows how many homes are in each of the bands in Mid Beds. It also explains how the Council tax for a Band D property is used to calculate the charge for the other bands:
How is the amount of council tax worked out?
- We calculate how much money we need to provide our services to you. This is called our ‘Budget Requirement’.
- We deduct the grants we receive from central government, make an adjustment, if needed, in respect of council tax collection for the previous year and then deduct the amount needed by town and parish councils.
- We divide the resultant figure by the ‘tax base’. The tax base for 2008/09 is 50,288 and it represents the number of properties registered for council tax as if every one was in Band D. This determines the Mid Beds’ Band D charge and is used to calculate the charges for the other bands.
- We then add the amounts needed by the County Council, Police Authority, Fire Authority and your local town or parish council, to give a final figure as shown on your bill.
How much will you pay in 2008/09
The following pdf document gives details of the amount each council needs to raise through council tax and how much the charge will be for a Band D property:
How Does Mid Beds spend its money?
The pdf document below shows how much we plan to spend on each of the main services we provide:
Has our spending changed since 2007/2008?
Yes. Our budget for 2007/2008 was £16,697m. For 2008/2009, our budget is £17,919m. The reasons for the increase are shown below:
Reductions and help with your Council Tax
Follow the link below for further information about Council Tax: discounts, exemptions, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, and Business Rates:
