COUNCIL tax income will be lost from almost 200 properties across Ceredigion after property owners registered as businesses to avoid paying a council tax premium on second homes and empty homes.

That will hit council finances with the council tax base for the county reducing by 0.66 per cent after the introduction of the authority’s 25 per cent council tax premium.

The council introduced the premium claiming it would lead to an increase in income from owners of holiday homes or empty homes or bring more properties back into use.

But council Cabinet members heard that, from the start of the 2016/17 year, 198 properties have been moved out of the council tax base and will now pay business rates which is distributed to authorities from central government.

In a report to the Cabinet, Rhodri Morris, the local taxation manager, said that almost 200 properties had been removed from the council tax base and will instead pay business rates, however that is also leading to the council having to repay money to property owners.

He said: “The council tax base for 2018/09 is £31,683.05 which is 0.66 per cent lower than the tax base for 2017/18.

“I am now in a position to report that 76 properties moved from council tax to business rates in 2016/17 and a further 122 in between April and October this year. Using this data the council tax base has, for the first time, fallen instead of showing a growth as in previous years.

“The refunds in total are amounting to several hundreds of thousands of pounds and are continuing.”

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday