WOKINGHAM BOROUGH Council said local businesses and residents have “taken a compassionate approach” to council tax and business rate collection this year.
Despite the pandemic, it said its rates have remained high, and has been working with Citizens’ Advice Wokingham
to “support the entire community”.
From suspending recovery action for the first six months of the financial year, to making sure residents and businesses received discounts and exemptions, the council said it introduced a number of support measures.
In total, last year’s council tax collection rate was 99.1%, and its business rate collection rate was 98.8%.
Graham Ebers, deputy chief executive, said:
“We rely on good collection rates to fund all the vital services we provide —in particular looking after vulnerable children and adults.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has managed to make their payments in such a difficult year.
“Without maintaining high collection rates our ability to respond to the needs of the community throughout the pandemic would be impaired.”
He said the council took “a particularly compassionate and careful approach” to collection this year, and it has kept it “in a reasonable financial position”.
