Council tax is set to increase from April for houses in bands E, F, G and H, in line with the decision made by the Scottish Government.
Aberdeenshire Council will set its 2017/18 budget on 9 February and the council has the option to raise council tax on all bands (A to H) by up to 3%. The council cannot be selective; if a decision is taken to increase council tax, the increase is applied to all bands.
The old and new rates for bands E to H under the government plans are:
Band. Current Rate. New Rate
E. £1394.56 £1499.15
F. £1648.11. £1854.13
G. £1901.67. £2234.46
H. £2282.00. £2795.45
These rates will increase further if the council decides to raise council tax rates by up to 3%, the maximum allowed by the Scottish Government.
Do you think Aberdeenshire Council should increase council tax by up to 3%? The increase would bring in roughly £3m, for a 3% rise across the board.
The alternative is that the council makes deeper cuts to its services. Cuts are hard to avoid though given that the Scottish Government is cutting its grants to local authorities by 3.5% (£350 million). The exact details for Aberdeenshire are not known yet.