COUNCIL TAX

Call for council tax overhaul

Work should begin now on the ‘long-overdue’ revaluation of all domestic properties in England to bolster local government finance, a think-tank has argued.

Work should begin now on the ‘long-overdue' revaluation of all domestic properties in England to bolster local government finance, a think-tank has argued.

The council tax system should then be reformed in the long term, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) said in its Spring Budget submission.

Revaluing properties would create a fairer council tax system, which reflects changes in the market since the last valuation took place in 1991, according to the NPP, a think-tank and advocacy group for the North of England.

Under the current system, a homeowner in Hartlepool living in a house worth £150,000 is paying more than £200 a year more in council tax than someone in Westminster in a property worth £8m, the partnership said.

It added that to make council tax ‘fully progressive', three new council tax ‘super bands' should be introduced for properties worth £2m and above, with revenue shared across the country to help less prosperous areas pay for key services like children's social care.

The think-tank also urged the chancellor to extend and deepen devolution. It said new level 4 mayoralties should receive a single funding settlement, and metro mayors should have powers to retain full business rates and introduce tourism taxes.

COUNCIL TAX

Matching up to a new Government

By Paul Marinko | 16 July 2024

New LGA chair Louise Gittins tells Paul Marinko how she plans to pick up the pace to net the sector’s key asks of Sir Keir Starmer’s new administration

COUNCIL TAX

Discharge rush heaps pressure on councils

By Martin Ford | 16 July 2024

A rush to discharge hospital patients is heaping more pressure on social care services, according to a survey of directors.

COUNCIL TAX

Forging ahead with optimism

By Ann McGauran | 04 July 2024

Labour’s Dame Meg Hillier talks to Ann McGauran about doing slow politics, the ‘big nasties’ any new government will inherit, and her possible next big role.

COUNCIL TAX

Fresh calls for fiscal devo

By Dan Peters | 04 July 2024

Backers of fiscal devolution have urged the government elected today to reconsider the policy despite their lobbying failing to get it mentioned in the manif...

Popular articles by Ellie Ames