25 June 2010
City of London tops council tax collection rates
The City of London’s council tax collection rate was the highest
in the country in 2009/10 at 99.4%.
Carla-Maria Heath, Head of Revenues at the City of London
Corporation which looks after the business district at the heart of
the capital, said: “This is a great result for the City
Corporation. This year we have placed more emphasis on telephone
chasing of arrears and this approach has definitely paid dividends.
We have also worked hard to deal directly with people struggling
with payments or in financial difficulties.
Council tax is levied on the 6,000 dwellings in the Square Mile
business district which is also home to more than 6,000
international businesses. The success rate for business rates
collected by the City of London Corporation from these firms was
99.1%. More than £600 million per year is raised in this way – the
majority of which is passed to central government for distribution
to local authorities up and down the country.
Ends
Notes for editors
About the City of London Corporation:
The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse organisation.
It supports and promotes the City as the world leader in
international finance and business services and provides local
services and policing for those working in, living in and visiting
the Square Mile. It also provides valued services to London and the
nation. These include the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School
of Music & Drama; the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery and
London Metropolitan Archive; a range of education provision
(including three City Academies); five Thames bridges (including
Tower Bridge and the Millennium Bridge); the Central Criminal Court
at Old Bailey; over 10,000 acres of open spaces (including
Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest), and three wholesale food
markets. It is also London’s Port Health Authority and runs the
Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. It works in partnership with
neighbouring boroughs on the regeneration of surrounding areas and
the City Bridge Trust, which it oversees, donates more than £15m to
charity annually.
Press enquiries
Susanna Howard, Press Officer, City of London Corporation
Tel: 020 7332 3450
Email:
susanna.howard@cityoflondon.gov.uk