Council tax 'will rise' for 200,000, say Tories

Ministers were today accused of paving the way towards hitting hundreds of thousands of homeowners with higher council tax bills.

The Tories warned that at least 200,000 householders in England are likely to appeal against being put into a higher council tax band under a property revaluation programme.

They seized on government plans to streamline the appeals process for property valuations for the local levy.

Under the Appeals Direct system, the Valuation Office Agency would seek to take a more pro-active role in dealing with far more complaints.

A valuation officer would launch an investigation as soon as a householder sought to appeal in a bid to deal with the case rather than it being referred to a tribunal.

Officials estimate the new system could cut the number of appeals which end up in a tribunal from 90 per cent to 25 per cent, or under the current system from 27,000 cases to 7,000 a year.

However, the Conservatives believe that the overhaul is in preparation for the revaluation of properties in England which ministers have so far delayed.

Based on a revaluation in Wales, which saw the introduction of a new band, they believe that hundreds of thousands of homeowners in England will also go up a band.

Shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman said: "This is a pre-emptive move by the Government to tackle the estimated flood of complaints from the likely tax hikes to come.

"Despite claiming that the revaluation has been postponed, step by step, Gordon Brown is putting the mechanisms in place to take it forward and increase tax takes by stealth.

"Based on the Welsh experience, the English council tax revaluation is likely to trigger at least 200,000 appeals from angry residents."

Householders will be able to appeal to a tribunal if they are not satisfied with the decision on their complaint by the Valuation Office Agency.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman added: "People appeal because they believe their home is in too high a tax band.

"It is therefore clearly nonsense to suggest the proposals would lead to higher council tax bands since the reverse, if anything, would be the case."