Average council tax up 91% in ten years

As debt management problems mount across the country, research carried out by Halifax has found that average council tax rises have outstripped inflation by a number of measures over the last decade.

By the measure of the retail price index inflation has risen by 31 per cent during this period, while average earnings have grown by only 51 per cent since 1997, according to the latest Halifax report.

“Council tax bills have increased significantly faster than either average earnings or retail prices over the past ten years,” commented Halifax’s chief economist Martin Ellis.

“Bills diverge across the country [and] growth rates over the last decade differ by a wide margin between billing authorities,” he added.

According to figures from the Liberal Democrat Party, the typical British household is paying a greater proportion of their income towards servicing their debts than at any point during the last decade.