Households are being hammered by higher council tax rates year after year with no sign of local authorities moderating the burden, a pressure group claims.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance says its analysis shows that on its introduction in 1993-94 the average annual band D council tax bill in England was £568.
Thirty years later the average level for 2023-24 is £2,065 which, after adjusting for inflation, is a real terms increase of 79 per cent.
Over the past 30 years 244 councils (57 per cent of the total) have never decreased their level of council tax.
From 1993-94 up to 2023-24, there were 9,462 individual council tax increases, compared to 404 freezes and just 363 cuts.
Huntingdonshire council has increased its council tax in real terms by 149 per cent since 1993, more than any other local authority. In second place is South Cambridgeshire council, which has recently gone down to a four-day week for staff.
Nottingham increased its council tax in cash terms more than any other English local authority since 1993, by £1,782 from £630 to £2,412.
Wandsworth has increased its council tax less in real terms than any other local authority since 1993, at just 1 per cent.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, says: "Households in every corner of the country are being hammered by higher rates year after year.
“Three decades since its introduction, the relentless climb of council tax shows no sign of reaching its peak.
“Only by cutting wasteful spending and binning pointless pet projects can town hall bosses bear down on the council tax burden.”
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Business rates are even worse
Yes business rates are atrocious, and when the idiots at the Valuation office get involved along with the work shy idiots at local councils - its horrific!!
I could write a book !!
(why is it that you always have to respond to them within a certain time limit - but they take a minimum of 2 weeks before its looked at??)
Agent S,
Still waiting from January 12th 2023 for a response from Preston Council on a Council Tax query. Automatically get a bounceback email saying it will take 6 weeks to answer?!?
Peloton World Champions strike again.
And the idiots want to know why rents continually increase?
and pray tell, WHAT exactly, do these councils provide? Lived in several different councils in London and only found crime, pot-holed filled streets and roads, and insecurity everywhere... (and this is on top of income tax, and all the other taxes and fees levied upon the idiots, I mean the masses)
Think most folk on council prob don’t live in the area or visit much. So the deductions they take don’t know much sbout it. Bit of bribery and put their X in that square.
There to fund their fantastic pension benefits 🎉🎉💰💰
Public Sector pensions went up by 10.1% in April, courtesy of the working tax payers.
My quite good company pension went up by under 2%!
Council tax based on 1990s valuation is no longer fit for purpose. Bring back community charge per head.
Agreed.
Stephen - that went well the last time they tried it!
fairest way though
The timing was wrong and the savings in the old domestic rates were modest.
Savings in Band D Council Tax would be huge now by comparison and so probably much more popular with working people who pay their way.
Another error was to increase benefits and trust claimants to be mature and responsible enough to pay Community Charge out of benefits.
Any repeat should deduct all public liability at source. In fact give the scroungers food vouchers instead of cash!
Yes I believe everyone should pay a proportion of C/tax it not fair to lump it all on households as all the citizens are beneficiaries. We had the poll tax riots and because the free loaders wouldn’t pay and went marching and got their way as usual unlike LL’s never listened to.
I think if half was on the property and everyone else make up the difference it would be fairer, can we have The Council Tax Reform Bill instead of the current nonsense.
My C/tax for my wife & me is £1868. + £627. For Mayor Khan that hates us and does nothing for us, + London Borough levy for Adult Care £284. so other are benefiting and not contributing, in other words my C/tax is £2800. pa.
Regarding my pension it absolute rubbish and taxed at 40% to add insult to injury.
I see 6 Adults on houses in our area pay the same or less than us so that’s not fair with their over flowing Bins.
People on the Benefit System gets discounts and in some cases I have seen 3 different discounts.
The other Adults I referred to pay nothing at all many with soft internet jobs.
Michael. I've worked in London. I know a lot of these foreign employees of foreign companies are paid direct to their country of origin.
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