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Swindon Borough fails to collect £3 MILLION Council Tax
June 28, 2005 6:10 PM
Tories have failed to collect £3 MILLION in local tax
Liberal Democrats are highlighting today the failure of Conservative-run Swindon Borough Council in collecting nearly £3 million pounds in Council Tax in the financial year 2004/05.
Liberal Democrat Leader, Cllr Wendy Johnson (Old Town & Lawn) said:
"Despite loud claims of financial competence from Swindon Tories, it is disturbing to hear that the Borough Council still languishes at the bottom of the pile for collecting Council Tax.
"In statistics revealed by the House of Commons library, Swindon Borough Council is listed as the 55th worst collection authority in the country out of 356 local authorities surveyed."
The collection total anticipated in the financial year 2004/05 was £65,097,000 but only £62,125,000 was collected. This compares to a collection rate in 2003/04 of £59,929,000 of which only £56,925,000 was collected.
Cllr Johnson continued:
"Although an extra £32,000 has been collected over the past 12 months, an extra 500 houses have become occupied in the northern sector and town centre apartments. So in real terms we have a shortfall of close to £500,000, based on an average Council Tax of £1,000
"This extra £32,000 collected this year only pays three quarters of the £54,700 Tory Cabinet member's allowances bill. If the Tories were paid on a performance related bonus, they would be foregoing their 13.5% pay-rise this year and taking a pay cut.
The local list:
Swindon Borough Council
collection rate 95.4%
money owed: £2,972,000
======================
West Wiltshire
collection rate 97.9%
money owed: £526,000
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North Wiltshire
collection rate 98.4%
money owed: £396,000
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Salisbury
collection rate 99.1%
money owed: £264,000
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Kennet
collection rate 99.5%
money owed: £63,000
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Total for all Wiltshire
collection rate 97.3%
money owed: £4,221,000
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