A call has been made for Westmorland and Furness Council to make the council tax system proportional and fair to the local services delivered by the council across the authority area by implementing special expenses as part of this year’s budget and council tax setting.
Council Tax, was introduced in 1993 as a tax on domestic property, as a system based on a series of bands under which people in cheaper homes paid less than those in more expensive properties.
Someone living in a modest £180,000 band C property in Penrith is paying £1,965.88 a year in council tax while someone occupying an £8m home in London’s Westminster in band H is paying £1,824.10.
In direct comparison a band C property in Westminster in 2023/24 is paying £810.71 in council tax.
Westmorland and Furness Council is set to increase to the council tax later this month with a band D property in Penrith expected to be paying £2,314.97 compared to a band D property in Westminster that from April when the new council tax bills land pay just £973.16 in Council Tax.
The Evolve Penrith organisation claim the North-South divide is also an issue locally across the Westmorland and Furness Council district the group has claimed a Penrith property in Castletown valued at £180,000 is paying £1,965.88 band C Council Tax with a comparable Band C terraced valued at £305,000 in 2023 in Kendal paying £1,938.83 and in Barrow a comparable property valued at £149,950 in November 2023 is classed as band A property paying a council tax of £1,430.71.
This has seen the call for Westmorland and Furness Council to look at alternative options to make the council tax more proportional to the services the council delivers in local areas across its district as well as wider calls for reform to the council tax system by the Westminster government.
One proposal put forward by the Evolve Penrith is for Westmorland and Furness Council to introduce “Special expenses” that have been a tool available to councils for over 30 years to allow different amounts of Council Tax to be calculated for different parts of a billing authorities͛ area.
The billing authority only charges special expenses to Council Taxpayers in those places where it is delivering and funding the relevant services.
In a statement by Evolve Penrith they said that “Penrith and the wider Eden area are seeing a substantial increase in council tax by Westmorland and Furness council with Eden area having had the biggest increase across the new council area in the current year and again is facing a 4.99% increase for the coming year.” Yet it claims Penrith and Eden are the “poor relations up north” when it comes to Westmorland and Furness Spending and service delivery in the area.
The group used children’s playparks as an example where Barrow has 23 playparks in the town Kendal Has 24 and Penrith just 8 that are funded and operated by Westmorland and Furness Council.
The organosation says if Westmorland and Furness Council used the Special Expenses as part of the council tax and budget setting process to make charges relevant to local services delivered across the Councils entire district this would see a fairer system and charges for residents especially in Penrith and Eden with a reduction in council tax locally.
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