AVERAGE COUNCIL TAX BILL TO TOP £1,300

First published by: This is Money

The average Council Tax bill will soar past the £1,300 mark in April, Government figures show.

Local Government Ministers confirmed that most householders face an inflation-busting rise of 5%, adding £63 to the average Council Tax band D bill. This means Council Tax has more than doubled since 1997. Homeowners are already struggling with rising mortgage rates, fuel bills and the cost of living in general.

The Government announced a £26bn Treasury cash injection for councils yesterday, insisting it would prevent 'excessive' tax increases. 

Grants to local authorities have risen 39 per cent in ten years, he said. Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman warned, however: 'Regardless of how the Government tries to spin these figures the reality is that working families and pensioners will see their Council Tax bills hit £110 a month.

Many families are really starting to feel the pinch and these latest figures suggest the Chancellor is going to squeeze family incomes even more.' James Frayne, from the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the Government 'talks as if their grants to local authorities will stop the need for tax increases'.

'The fact is that taxes are going to keep going up until national and local politicians start to get a grip on waste and unnecessary spending and start to realise that the money they spend belongs to the public, not them,' he added.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX

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