TaxPayers’ Alliance finds council tax has more than doubled in 20 years

• Council tax has increased by 111 per cent since 2001-02, taking the highest band D bills to well over £2,200. Liverpool will have the highest council tax in the North West at £2,129.

• TaxPayers’ Alliance found the top 30 council tax increases in percentage terms were all in London boroughs, due to the 9.5 per cent increase in the Greater London Authority precept.

• The campaign group says rises this year are crossing the line, with 104 authorities’ tax bills now over £2,000, almost three times more than last year.

As residents of every council in England face increased council tax bills next week, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that council tax in England has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Rates increased by 60 per cent during the first decade of the 2000s, and increased by 32 per cent in the last ten years. Since the tax was first introduced in 1993, it has more than trebled.

The top 30 council tax increases in percentage terms were all in London boroughs, due to the 9.5 per cent increase in the Greater London Authority precept. With these increases, bills are now reaching record levels in many areas.

The analysis shows that a third of English councils’ tax bills are over £2,000, almost three times more than last year. Nottingham residents have the highest average tax bills in the country at £2,226. Liverpool city council, which government commissioners are now set to run, had the highest council tax in the North West, at £2,129, as well as the highest increase in the region, at £102.

The economic damage of the pandemic has devastated household incomes and many are opposing further rises. To pay for essential services, the TaxPayers’ Alliance is calling on local authorities to stop council tax rises and cut down on wasteful spending by scrapping pet projects and pay rises for town hall executives.

Key findings:

• In 2001-02, the average band D council tax bill in England was £901. In 2021-22, the figure is £1,898, an increase of 111 per cent in cash terms.
  

• The average band D council tax bill increased by 60 per cent between 2001-02 and 2010-11 and increased by 32 per cent between 2010-11 and 2021-22.
  

• The highest percentage tax rise was Hammersmith and Fulham at 6.3 per cent. The top 30 council tax increases in percentage terms were all in London boroughs, due to the 9.5 per cent increase in the Greater London Authority precept.
  

• A total of 104 authorities have council tax bills of over £2,000, around one third of the councils in England. The number of councils charging over £2,000 has almost trebled since 2020-21 when 36 councils charged over £2,000.
  

• Residents in Nottingham pay the highest council tax in England at £2,226. Residents in Westminster pay the lowest at £829. Wandsworth is the only other authority charging less than £1,000.
  

• Liverpool has the highest council tax in the North West at £2,129, as well as the highest cash increase in the North West at £102.
  

• Hartlepool had the smallest increase in both cash and percentage terms in the country, at £6.91 or 0.3 per cent.

Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

“Councils are crossing the line with punishing tax hikes which will hit residents hard.

“Colossal council bills running into the thousands are the last thing taxpayers need as we emerge from the coronavirus crisis, which has put real pressure on household budgets.

“The country needs every single council to get real and start tackling wasteful spending by scrapping pointless pet projects and stopping staff pay rises.”