Agents watching for effects of sharp rise in council tax on high-end homes

There are to be significant increases in council tax paid by the owners of the most expensive homes across Scotland, in a move sure to be watched by agents and politicians south of the border too.

From April next year rates paid by those living in properties in the four highest council tax bands (E, F, G and H) will be adjusted in a move that will generate £100 million a year. 

Under the proposals the average band E household will pay around £2 per week more and the average household in the highest band will pay around £10 a week more.

The 75 per cent of Scottish households that live in bands A to D will be unaffected by this change to the council tax band system and a further 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes - more than one third of which are pensioner households - will be entitled to an exemption from the changes through the council tax reduction scheme.

Across Scotland, average rates in all bands will remain lower than the average in England.

“The Commission on Local Tax Reform made clear that the present system could be made fairer. We are choosing to do this in a reasonable and balanced way that will also generate £100 million of additional revenue to invest in schools” says Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

From April 2017 individual councils will have the power to increase their council tax by a maximum of three per cent a year. 

“This will see councils be more accountable for raising revenue, while ensuring that the rapid and significant rises we saw in the past do not return. Importantly, to ensure the contribution individuals make to the delivery of local services is more closely tied to their earnings” says Sturgeon.