SLOUGH would be ‘one of the richest' councils in the country and not the poorest if it kept all the business rates it collects, a financial chief has claimed.

Slough Borough councillor Rob Anderson (Lab: Britwell & Northborough), lead member for financial oversight, said the area would be second to Westminster if the government allowed councils to keep most, if not all, of the business rates it collects.

This is because of the many businesses in and around the town centre and the Poyle trading estate as well as the many headquarters of major companies, such as Mars, in the Slough Trading Estate.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: “In that sense, we are a hugely wealthy town because we’ve got a huge amount of tax being paid in the town but it’s just that we don’t get it.”

READ MORE: Cash-strapped Slough Council 'not sustainable' without huge tax hike

All local authorities collect rates from businesses in their respective areas. However, it hands that money over to the government and is able to keep about 50 per cent of the collection.

The Labour councillor’s comments follow the recent announcement that Slough Borough Council was given the go-ahead by government to increase council tax above the legal cap.

From April, residents are set to see their bill go up by nearly 10 per cent as the cash-strapped council, which effectively declared bankruptcy in 2021 and needs to reduce its £760m borrowing debt, grapples with its financial crisis and high inflation.

READ MORE: Slough's huge council tax hike labelled a "slap in the face"

Cllr Anderson said: “If we were able to get the business rates that businesses in Slough pay, we would actually be one of the richest councils in the country rather than one of the poorest.

“That is the irony of it, but the government will never give us that. The government will never let go of that golden goose they’ve got by the tail feathers.”