The Council has the power to levy a tax on property owners and residents within the parish. This tax is referred to as the parish precept and is based on the Parish Council’s budget for the next financial year.
The amount of the precept must be submitted to the principal authority (also known as the billing authority), i.e. Kirklees Council, in early February every year. Kirklees Council undertakes the calculations and the Parish Council’s precept is included in the overall Council Tax bill sent to householders and residents (who do not have to be registered electors). It is the duty of Kirklees Council to ensure that all those eligible to vote are registered, because having a large number of unregistered residents can cause a distortion in the calculations.
Once the Parish Council has prepared its budget, the precept figure will be the difference between the Council’s forecast expenditure, less its forecast income and use of any reserves.
At the heart of the calculations by Kirklees Council is the concept of the Band D households and the Council Tax Base. The Council Tax Base is calculated by Kirklees Council by equating the number of Band D equivalent properties in each Parish/Area after taking into account such things as the number of properties in each band during the year (i.e. including the results of changes and appeals), disabled relief, discounts and exemptions, provision for bad or doubtful debts, and allowance for growth). The Tax Base figures are expressed as Band D equivalents in accordance with the relevant regulations. This means that a property in Band B will be expressed as being equivalent to 7/9ths of a Band D property, whilst a property in Band H will be expressed as two Band D properties. Kirklees Council sets a Council Tax payable for a property in Band D and properties in other bands therefore pay the appropriate proportion of that amount.
For 2023-24 Kirklees Council calculates that the Holme Valley has 10482.86 Band D equivalent properties.It should be noted that the number of Band D equivalent properties will vary each year, as a result of new homes being built and old ones being demolished. The number is also affected by the levels of people eligible for discounts (e.g. disability relief).
It must also be noted that the Band D or equivalent charge is per property, not per person.
All additional funds are specifically identified to support community assets in the Valley.