INFLATION-BUSTING COUNCIL TAX RISES AHEAD

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE IS MONEY 

COUNCIL TAX BILLS WILL GO UP BY MORE THAN 4% THIS YEAR, IT EMERGED YESTERDAY.

The rise, which is 50% above the rate of inflation, will mean that local taxes will have all but doubled. Local government officials confirmed yesterday that estimates putting the spring increase at less than 4% were too low. Ministers had hoped that large dollops of Treasury cash given to councils had kept the lid on increases.

Town halls last night blamed the Government for the impending hike and one official warned: 'There will be more pain than people had anticipated.'

Lord Bruce-Lockhart, head of the Local Government Association, said: 'Government grants have failed to keep pace with the demands placed on local government, including coping with the needs of an ageing population and the costs from new legislation. 'Now is the time for Government to be honest about what it is prepared to fund in the future and what impact this will have on local services and the Council Tax payer.'

The Department of Communities and Local Government is expected to announce a figure of 4.2% at the end of next month. The Chancellor favoured measure of inflation, the consumer price index, stood at 2.7% in January. An average bill in England would go up by £44 to £1,100. In 1997 the figure was £564.

The benchmark band D Council Taxpayer would have to find £1,321, up by £53 and, over the decade, a 92% increase. The elderly have suffered the most from higher bills, largely because many have good-sized homes in highly-taxed areas while having to make do on fixed incomes.

Two supporters of the pressure group Is It Fair will be in court this week for non-payment of Council Tax.

Spokesman Christine Melsom said: 'Once again the Council Tax rise will be order to meet Council Tax demands. One in 12 had cut back on heating. Charity finance expert Anna Pearson said: 'This injustice is made worse by the fact that despite the increases in Council Tax, many older people are seeing the services they rely on most facing cutbacks.'

Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: 'Council Tax bills are now edging closer and closer to being double what they were when Labour came into power and every year brings a nasty shock as higher and higher bills arrive. 'An increase of 4.2% is the equivalent of £110 a month out of someone's pension or take-home pay.'

The property revaluation could leave many owners paying even more in Council Taxes. A report into local government finances is due this spring.

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

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