Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak will not benefit from the £150 council tax rebate to ease the cost-of-living pain for families – but they do enjoy the lowest charges in the country.
The PM and Chancellor pay the levy at their grace-and-favour residences in No11 and No10 Downing Street respectively.
But council tax in Westminster is the lowest in England, with a band D property liable for £827.56 in 2021-22 – less than half the national average of £1,898.
Both Downing Street apartments are in Band H, which entails a £1,655.12 bill. But a home in the same band in Bristol would be paying £4,327.30, and in Nottingham the figure is nearly three times higher at £4,451.52.
Costs are expected to rise across England in April, although how much is yet to be confirmed.
Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak will also escape soaring energy bills causing misery for millions this spring because of a ‘cap’ on contributions at the residences.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak pay council tax at their grace-and-favour residences in No11 and No10 Downing Street respectively
Both Downing Street apartments are in Band H, which entails a £1,655.12 bill. But a home in the same band in Bristol would be paying £4,327.30, and in Nottingham the figure is nearly three times higher at £4,451.52
Figures this week showed the headline CPI inflation rate hit another near 30-year high of 5.5 per cent in January, driven by energy costs
The PM and the Chancellor are only liable for a ‘benefit in kind’ to cover heating and utilities at flats where they live rent-free.
And the value of the benefit is limited to a maximum of 10 per cent of their ministerial salary – meaning they only pay a few thousand pounds a year and it will not change.
Figures this week showed the headline CPI inflation rate hit another near 30-year high of 5.4 per cent in January, driven by energy costs.
Mr Sunak – reputed to be one of the richest MPs with a multi-billion pound family fortune – has insisted he ‘understands’ the pressure on ordinary Britons.
He announced a cost-of-living package earlier this month that means properties in bands A to D will get a £150 rebate on their council tax.
Every household in England will also get an upfront £200 discount on their bill in October.
But it is provided through a loan from the government to energy firms, which will be recouped with a £40 per year supplement over the next five years from 2023.
Westminster has long benefited from low council tax, with the Tory-run authority proud of its restrained levy and getting significant revenue from business rates and parking in the thriving area.
Mr Johnson lives in the four-bedroom apartment above No11 with wife Carrie and their children. There is a £30,000 a year taxpayer allowance for maintenance and improvements, but Mr Johnson has been heavily criticised for initially trying to get donors to pay for a much more expensive refurbishment.
Mr Sunak lives in the flat above No10 with his wife and two daughters. Since Tony Blair premiers have tended to choose the No11 residence because it is larger.
Ofgem has announced the cap on energy prices will rise by more than 50 per cent from April, after a shocking spike in wholesale gas prices over recent month
The politicians pay council tax on the properties as their main homes.
Mr Johnson earns just over £75,000 as PM, on top of his £82,000 salary as an MP. Mr Sunak receives £67,500 as Chancellor plus his MP pay.
Under government rules, the PM and Chancellor have a tax liability for expenses ‘relating to the use’ of their official apartments, such as heating and lighting.
The value of the benefit is capped at 10 per cent of their ministerial salaries – so not including their MP pay.
According to the latest Treasury accounts, Mr Johnson had a benefit of £7,500 for the No11 flat in 2020-21, while Mr Sunak’s at No10 was £6,800.
The actual cost to them will depend on their total taxable income, but is likely to be between £3,000 and £3,300.
The government insists there is no way of separating the individual energy costs for the flats from the wider Downing Street complex.