The average annual band D council tax bill in England has risen by 79% in real terms over the 30 years since the tax was first levied.
A new report from the Taxpayers’ Alliance to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the tax shows that residents of Rutland pay the highest 2023-24 band D council tax in England, at £2,422.
The lowest 2023-24 band D council tax in England is paid by Westminster residents, at £914.
When introduced in 1993-94, the average annual band D council tax bill in England was £568 – and that figure has now risen to £2,065 (2023-24). The 79% increase is calculated after adjusting for inflation.
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Huntingdonshire District Council has increased its council tax in real terms by 149% since 1993, the most of any local authority.
Nottingham has increased its council tax in cash terms more than any other English local authority since 1993, the Taxpayers’ Alliance report said, by £1,782 – from £630 to £2,412.
Wandsworth has increased its council tax less in real terms than any other local authority, at 1%.
Some 244 councils, representing 57% of the total, have never decreased their level of council tax over the 30 years of its existence.
In that time, there have been 9,462 individual council tax increases, compared to 404 freezes and just 363 cuts.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s research paper can be read here.
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