Experts say chancellor should go further than rumoured plan to update value of homes in top three bands
Rachel Reeves has been urged to “grasp the nettle” and kick off a wholesale revaluation of the nation’s homes for council tax in next week’s budget as she prepares to introduce a levy on the most expensive properties.
Council tax is charged based on valuations carried out in 1991. The Treasury is understood to have drawn up plans to update the value of homes currently in the top three council tax bands – F to H.
All properties above a yet to be determined threshold, expected to be set at £1m-£2m, could then face a flat-rate annual levy of perhaps £2,000-£3,000 in addition to their existing council tax bill. If implemented, the revenue from this charge – styled by some as a “mansion tax” – would go straight to the Treasury.
Helen Miller, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said a partial revaluation along these lines would make the system more complex.
