FAMILIES could be hit with council tax bills of up to £10,000 a year under plans being weighed up by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
She is considering doubling rates on more than a million homes in the top two council tax bands, according to The Telegraph.
The plan could see bills for a Band G home jump from £3,800 to £7,600, and Band H properties soar from £4,560 to £9,120.
In Rutland, the most expensive area in the country, Band H bills could rocket to £10,800 a year.
Critics warned the move would force pensioners “out of their homes” as many older residents live on fixed incomes and couldn’t afford the hike.
Ms Reeves is said to be looking at the idea – proposed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies – as one of the “easiest ways to raise cash” for a £30 billion black hole in the public finances.
The IFS says the plan could raise £4.2 billion a year by the end of the decade.
The Treasury refused to deny the proposal, saying only: “We do not comment on speculation around changes to tax outside of fiscal events.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch blasted the plan, saying: “Last year Rachel Reeves promised she wouldn’t be back for more taxes. Shamefully, she looks on course to break that promise.
“Creating new higher council tax bands will hammer people who have lived in the same house for decades, particularly pensioners, some of whom will be unable to pay this new tax and be forced out of their home.
“Instead of putting new taxes on family homes, she should be removing them, as I have said I would do by abolishing stamp duty.
“The Conservatives have a serious, costed plan to cut spending by £47bn and use half to pay down the deficit and half to get our economy growing.
“If Keir Starmer had any backbone, he’d tell his weak Chancellor to steal our savings package, cut tax and get Britain working again.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage slammed the move as an “attack on aspiration” that would cause “huge consternation amongst older people living in properties they bought many years ago”.
Experts also said the measure would hit older homeowners hardest and could flood the housing market with “for sale” signs.
Lucian Cook of Savills warned asset-rich but cash-poor households would be “at the sharp end of this” policy.
He said that families that had lived in properties for a long period of time would have “seen their assets go up in value, but that doesn’t mean they can be considered to be wealthy”.
Richard Donnell of Zoopla added: “Changes in council tax would likely see some homeowners look to sell to reduce costs, which would further add to supply and impact prices.”
Official figures show any raid on the top bands would mainly hit the South, with two-thirds of Band H homes in London and nearby counties.
In the North East there are just 1,560 Band H properties, compared with nearly 100 times that in the South East.
A final decision on the tax rises will not be made until after November 21, when the Office for Budget Responsibility delivers its latest forecast.
The Budget is scheduled for November 26.
