Council tax axe within sight for poorest Stafford households

Stafford Borough Council has recommended the plans be approved

Plans to make thousands of households exempt from paying any council tax have been recommended for approval.

A full council meeting is set to make a decision later this month on the proposed reprieve for families in Stafford Borough hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis.

If backed, the change would mean the lowest-income homes pay no council tax at all for the 2023-24 financial year.

More than 4,500 working-age households would benefit from April.

Those eligible will have the reduction automatically applied and will not need to claim.

Working-aged people who were not the parents of children under five years and were not disabled were already subject to reductions, with an 80% cap applied. Councillors are recommended to remove the cap.

Under the proposals, council tax discounts of up to 60% would also be available for struggling households on higher incomes than tax-exempt residents.

The council report to elected members does not share detail of income thresholds for eligibility.

Councillor Mike Smith, cabinet member for resources, said: "We know some of our lowest-income families are being hardest hit by the significant increases in energy bills and the rise in the cost of living for many everyday essential products and services and we are determined to help those most in need where we can."