COUNCIL TAX BILLS TO SOAR

95% of town halls will put up their charges within months

MILLIONS of households face higher council tax bills this year, it has been revealed today.

Up to 95 per cent of councils plan to increase their bills, according to an annual study.

Ninety-three per cent said it was the only option left to them if local services are not to be cut back further. But critics said the rise is unfair to cash-strapped families who will find their budgets squeezed even harder.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Tax Payers’ Alliance, said: “Council tax has increased by 60 per cent since 1998 and while local politicians complain that their budgets are under strain, they should remember that family budgets are as well.

“Council tax is a major burden on taxpayers and a huge contributor to the cost of living.

“Local authorities should think twice before another round of painful tax hikes and instead step up a war on wasteful spending.”

Mr O’Connell added that council

tax has increased by 57 per cent in real terms since 1997.

Neil Duncan-Jordan, national officer at the National Pensioners Convention, said: “Pensioners will find it hard to stomach chief executives of local councils on fat-cat salaries telling them to find more money from their fixed incomes.

“Instead of hiking council taxes, perhaps councils should look at the generous salaries and gold-plated pensions given to their directors.

“Instead of cutting services, there’s other fat to trim.”

Perilously

The figures for councils in England were revealed in the 2018 State Of Local Government Finance study, which was conducted by the Local Government Information Unit think-tank and The Municipal Journal.

This week East Sussex has increased bills by 5.99 per cent and Peterborough City Council is to increase charges by six per cent leaving a taxpayer in a Band B home paying £1,015 – £57.38 more than last year.

In 1997, the average Band D council tax bill in England was £688, – now it is £1,591.

Council tax can be hiked by up to three per cent this year, in line with inflation, but local authorities can also levy an additional three per cent for social care.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of LGiU, said: “Councils are on the edge. They are for the most part holding services together. But they can only do this by raising council tax.

“The system is unsustainable and needs far more fundamental reform than is presently on offer. It’s simply not acceptable that we don’t know how local government will work post 2020.

“Councils are calling for assurances around funding for the next three years and for a fundamental redesign of the finance system.”

Local Government Association chairman Lord Porter said: “Some councils continue to be pushed perilously close to the financial edge.

“Extra council tax raising powers will helpfully give some councils the option to raise some extra income but will not bring in enough to completely ease the financial pressure they face.

“This means many councils face having to ask residents to pay more council tax while offering fewer services as a result.”