Kirklees Council calls for 'fairer' council tax amidst claims some in Kirklees are paying more than multi-million pound London home-owners

The issue was recently brought to light through research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which said that Kirklees residents are losing out due to the antiquated system that is based on property values from 1991.

The think-tank is calling on the government to reform the way council tax works and move to a model that doesn’t ‘punish’ people in areas where house prices haven’t kept up with the national trend.

Figures from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that the annual cost of a Band D council tax property in Kirklees in the 2024/25 financial year is three times as big as it was in 1995/96.

While Kirklees’ house prices are 4.2 times more than they were in April 1995, across the country, house prices are on average, 5.6 times as big.

This means residents in areas like Kirklees where house prices have risen at a slower rate are paying a higher proportion of their property value on council tax.

Kirklees Council and cabinet member for Finance and Regeneration, Coun Graham Turner, said: “The system of local government funding in England has been in crisis for years.

"It can’t be right that a family living in a multi-million-pound property in central London pays less in council tax than a family in an ‘average’ property in Kirklees.

"And it can’t be right that Kirklees is one of the lowest-funded local authorities in the country despite the needs of our communities.

“Only central government can change the system of funding and council tax bands. That’s why we lobbied the last government for a fair deal for Kirklees and we will continue to argue the case for local people.

“The current system of council tax has been around for over 30 years so a review is well overdue. I would hope the new government – whilst it has lot of work to do to – will recognise the inequalities in the system and look to ensure a fairer system is introduced as soon as possible.’’