Businesses in The Lexicon have clawed back tens of millions of pounds of tax from Bracknell Forest Council – but you’re not allowed to know which ones.

The council has paid out £31.1 million in refunds to businesses in the borough since 2017 – many of them in The Lexicon – just as it is struggling to find cash for essential services.

But council bosses have said they can’t reveal which businesses have claimed a payout, arguing this information could be used to commit fraud.

The council is having to pay around five years’ worth of business rates – which are similar to residents’ council tax – through no fault of its own. It is a “double whammy” that will hit the council’s pockets for years to come, according to top officials.

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Since 2017, the council has paid out refunds to 1,749 businesses – mostly to those that have convinced the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) that they have been paying too much.

Council bosses revealed last month that at the start of this year they noticed a “pattern” of businesses in The Lexicon claiming refunds dating as far back as 2017.

But the council refused to tell Bracknell News which businesses had successfully appealed or how much they had been repaid, following a freedom of information request.

Stuart McKellar, executive director of resources at Bracknell Forest Council, said: “Since April 2017, Bracknell Forest Council has processed £31.1m in business rates refunds to 1,749 businesses in the borough.

“The vast majority are reimbursements related to a downwards revaluation of the business property’s rateable value assessed by the national Valuation Office Agency, following the submission of an appeal by or on behalf of the occupying business.”

Mr McKellar said that information on past and present business rates are available from the VOA, but not which business are liable to pay.

He added that if the council reveals details of business rates paid by specific companies, these could then by used by other firms fraudulently claiming to act on ratepayers’ behalf.

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He said: “It is not uncommon for businesses to deal with their tax affairs, including business rates, through a third party.

“It would be relatively straightforward for an organisation to fraudulently aim to do this for their own gain, should details of an individual business rates account also be made public.”

The payouts come just as Bracknell Forest Council leaders have warned of “difficult decisions” on council spending as they struggle to make ends meet.

Council leader Mary Temperton said that as well as having to pay out millions of pounds, the appeals mean the council will be able to collect less in tax from those businesses in the future.