Hikes in council tax for April

Council taxes are set to rise in April by much more than has been expected.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has forecast that properties in band D will increase £53 to £1,302 in April which equates to an increase of 4.2 per cent.

Steve Freer, the chief executive of CIPFA, said: "There is little doubt that the threat of capping if tax increases exceed five per cent has concentrated minds."

Steve Thomas from the Welsh Local Government Association also expressed the tax rise as beneficial to the public and said that the old days of 15 to 20 per cent rises in council
tax were gone.

Council tax payers in Wales will see their bills rise by more than those in England although local authorities have been told to keep the rises below five per cent where possible.


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