A wide-ranging Government review of council tax in England has recommended increasing the number of property price bands in a bid to make the system fairer.

The Balance of Funding Review which was published on Tuesday has also suggested bringing in more forms of local taxation, such as reformed business rates.

Local government minister Nick Raynsford announced that an independent inquiry under Sir Michael Lyons would look into the findings of the report.

He also described claims that many people would be hit with huge increases in council tax as "simply untrue".

Is it time that the current system of council tax in England was reformed? Are the proposed reforms fair? Should the council tax be replaced with a different system of local government funding?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

Hit those that can afford them not those who cannot Denice, London England

An increase in the price bands of property is a good idea. Houses should be taxed according to size and value if we have to have this system of taxation. People who cannot afford higher council tax bills should downsize so that they live within their means. Older people certainly should downsize so that larger houses are freed up for people with families and tax relief should be given to pensioners who downsize. Those pensioners who live in smaller housing also should be given tax relief but pensioners who stay on in larger houses should pay the same rate as everyone else as obviously they can afford an increased tax. Reformed business rates is a great idea as well. There have to be changes all round and it is about time. If we have to have these Thatcherite ideas then utilise them properly and hit those that can afford them not those who cannot!
Denice, London England

I pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax already. Why should I pay more just because I am successful? My children go to a public school, I pay for my medical care. I use fewer services yet people want me to pay even more tax. It is attitudes like this that drive successful businessmen out of this country.
David, London, UK

Property value has no relationship to either community services used or wealth of occupant. The Government should stop fudging issues and replace Council Tax with a local tax system that is socially equitable.
Andrew Potter, London

Once again those who have want to hang onto their wealth and make the poor pay more Paul, Darlington

Once again those who have want to hang onto their wealth and make the poor pay more. Your money may be tied up in property, but it is still wealth and it has been easily the best investment over the last decade. These people want those who are now too poor to ever get onto to the property ladder to shore up their selfish lifestyle. Shame on you!
Paul, Darlington

I think pensioners on a minimum pension should be considered when Council Tax is charged. Also that the 50% discount on properties which are not occupied for more than one month a year (person living abroad) should be reinstated. It is most unfair that someone who does not use any of the services provided, including waste removal, should be charged 100@ Council Tax.
Letitia I McRae, Nottingham, U.K.

Definitely. I live in a town centre flat which is accessed from an alleyway. I don't have my bins emptied by the council (instead having to use the bins outside the nearby shops), there is no street lighting and the alleyway is rarely repaired and cleaned. Yet I still pay as much as people living in residential areas with all the services provided for them on a regular basis.
Doug McKerracher, Swindon, UK

It's all very well taxing those with expensive houses, but what about those of us with huge mortgages to buy those houses - will that be taken into account? Or should I just sell up, reduce the mortgage and move to a smaller house?
Steve, Hook, Hampshire

In the South East �170,000 is the value of only the most basic flat or tiny terraced house Anon, London

This is an insane idea. In the South East �170,000 is the value of only the most basic flat or tiny terraced house. And in London it'll probably only pay for a property in the most deprived of boroughs. How can the owner of such a property possibly be defined as 'wealthy'? The amount most people pay is already astronomical and has gone up well above inflation every year for as long as I can remember. If anything what's needed is a rebate for single people who currently pay 75% of the total charge due - how fair is that?
Anon, London

A local income tax is so much more sensible. One of the reasons that councils have such a shortfall in their incomes is due to the shear cost of collecting council tax. So much money is wasted on chasing up non-payers. Deducting the money at source, i.e. straight out of the pay packet like income tax would give the councils so much more money without leaving everyone vastly poorer like the massive proposed increases would.
Simon Tod, London, UK

Yes it should. The council tax is unfair, why should it only be home owners that contribute to the local council? Why should the 18 to 25 year olds, in full time employment, that live with their parents not contribute to the council they live in? The amount we all pay should not be related to the value of the house we live in. All wage earners should pay a local income tax, they get the benefits so why not contribute. It's all about the ability to pay not the value of the house you live in.
Deanna Bacon, West Drayton, UK

Why should hard-working people who are trying to save every penny to get onto the property ladder be penalised? Martin L, London

I strongly support the government initiative to increase the tax for people living in a costly home. Why should hard-working people who are trying to save every penny to get onto the property ladder be penalised? If you can't afford to pay the council tax for your mansion, then move to a 'reasonable' flat. Local income tax is a trick by the Lib Dems to woo the pensioners - who are the most politically active lobby.
Martin L, London

Relating the tax for local services to the notional value of a property is a total nonsense and always has been. All taxes should be related to income, whether raised locally or nationally.
Rod, UK

I wouldn't mind paying more council tax if i thought it wasn't being wasted - as it is, our council are slow, disorganised and inefficient. If you try to call them, queues on the phones are always about 20 minutes long, they never respond to emails. Every time we have had any dealings with them, they have been slow and inefficient, yet we have very high council taxes here. I wouldn't mind giving them more money, but I want a better service and more accountability to go with it.
Josephine, Reading, UK

Why not introduce a tax on the gain made on their houses? People are currently making more on their houses every year than they do in their job - tax it. Lets get some redistribution from the South East to the rest of the country. Tax free gains on housing just perpetuates the problem.
Stephen, Glasgow, Scotland

The more just the poll tax appears to be T Newman, Bournemouth UK

The more you think about it the more just the poll tax appears to be. If everyone paid then maybe we would have less binge drinking and it would not be just business and home owners footing the bill for it all.
T Newman, Bournemouth UK

Yes it should. The amount we all pay should not be related to the value of the house we live in. Through no fault of mine my house has risen dramatically over the years, however my salary has gone down through redundancy and having to take a lower paid job. So where am I supposed to get the increased council tax from? All wage earners should pay a local income tax, they get the benefits so why not contribute. It's all about the ability to pay not the value of the house you live in.
Tony Westgate, Horbury, UK

Under a local income tax scheme the solitary millionaire in an impoverished area would end up footing the bill for all his neighbours. Much better to scrap council tax altogether, raise revenue centrally through income tax and then distribute it down to all councils based on population needs in the area. Much fairer.
Lorraine, St Albans, UK

We do not want to tax income as that depresses the economy. Taxing on the size of home is unfair as older people may well have had a large house for years and are now on very low incomes. We need to tax consumption to ensure there is no consumer boom and also to preserve resources. A local sales tax will achieve all this. It is not fair to tax people who work hard for their money. It is fair to tax them when they choose to spend it. This will encourage more saving for old age and also mean that inefficient councils will be exposed as they have to charge higher sales tax. So a local sales tax is economically sensible and is also accountable. What are we waiting for?!
Matthew Knowles, Loughton, UK

Once again the ordinary householder will be penalised Mike, Gravesend, UK

Once again the ordinary householder will be penalised. Many people have lived in the same house for years, having bought the property at a very moderate price. Now through no fault of their own they will pay extra council tax because of the absurd super-inflated price rises which successive governments have failed to control. Are they suggesting that �170,000 is the average price - in that case why has Stamp Duty not risen accordingly, and still payable after the first �60,000? If I decide to move the current super-inflated value of my house is meaningless because I will have to pay it out again plus the exorbitant Stamp Duty.
Mike, Gravesend, UK

In a newspaper article last Sunday there was an example of the type of bills that the 50 room, 50 million pound houses that border Kensington Palace in London receive. Their Council Tax was �2000 per year. I own a 1 bedroom flat in Bristol. My Council Tax is �1300 per year. Where is the fairness in that? Shouldn't larger houses in richer areas with richer owners have to pay more money on their Taxes than us poor fools that have to scrape a living together?
Duncan J McKean, Bristol, UK

I suggest we go to a tax based on how many adults live in a house and charge accordingly. It is they who use the services. Maybe we could use the electoral register to decide how many people at each address would pay. We could call it "The Poll Tax". Fair for all, independent of property values. "Who uses pays"
Dave, Durham, UK

My home has nearly trebled in price over the past ten years, my income has risen by 3%, my use of council services has diminished as my son left home. I cannot take advantage of any rise in my homes value, as any replacement is just as expensive. Tell me why I should pay yet higher taxes merely because of a rise in house prices engineered by a cynical Government? Still I should be happy, my local council employs someone, at vast expense, to tell me what I can put in my dustbin.
Barry P, Havant England

Are there any houses worth less than �170,000? Not in the South East as far as I can tell...
Richard, UK

It is certainly time for a reform of the council tax system. I live in a sought after area in a 3 bedroom terraced house which is currently classed in Band E. A similar property less than 2 miles away falls into the Band D category. Both areas are served by the same council and receive the same service level. Banding properties on their 80s valuation is unrealistic and in sought after areas grossly unfair. Council tax payments do not guarantee equal or better service levels for property owners.
Alan Glenister, Bushey, Herts UK

Abandon the fiasco of locally collected taxes and extra costs that this creates Karen, York, England

Replace it with funding from central government - abandon the fiasco of locally collected taxes and extra costs that this creates. Each council applies for funding in the same way as government departments.
Karen, York, England

Of course it should. The Poll Tax may have been a blunt instrument (with no account of income) but at least every adult had to pay. The rates and the council tax are iniquitous. The value the market places on a house should not be a factor - especially as it isn't worth anything unless you sell it and it takes no account of how many people live in the house. I'm certain they wouldn't give you a rebate if the value of your house reduced! It would be far better if our over complicated tax system was radically simplified and it all came from direct taxation - but local government won't buy that.
John, UK

Down here in Devon the local councils are able to increase the council tax by 19%! All I see is a lovely council office and a reduction in services. They were suppose to increase the council tax for second home owners (and there are a lot of them down here) and use the money for affordable houses. I have not seen any of that either. Rather than increase taxes again, why not get the auditors in and see how much money is wasted!
Julian, Devon, UK

Is this legalised robbery?! How on earth does having a house deemed as "valuable" correspond to your ability to pay? Moves like this mean I will no longer be able to live in the family home that has come to me (a student) through inheritance. Replace it with a local income tax so you pay according to what you actually earn, not according to the ridiculous whims of the property market.
Andrew, Leighton Buzzard, UK

Many of the homes in Devon which are 'priced' below �177,000 are holiday homes so now we will let these people pay reduced council taxes when we have fought for years to make them pay the same as all the residents. My daughters both hardworking women trying hard to buy their own homes. These homes have jumped in value from �80,000 to around �190,000 through no fault of theirs and now they will be asked to shoulder a greater tax burden. It beggars description that the people responsible for reformulating these taxes can consider �177,000 as being a luxury dwelling. You can visit both their small houses and see for themselves. All my OAP friends are in the same predicament and now find ourselves living in houses valued at �200,000 or more and struggling to pay the present taxes. It strikes me that someone in Whitehall is living in cloud cuckoo land but then we knew that already.
Ralph Bennett, Bideford, UK

The new system will leave many victims of circumstance Martin Griffin, Gosport

Local government should maintain control on council tax - but I fully agree that it should be income based. The proposed changes do not take into account people who rent their homes. I for one know I wouldn't get a mortgage on the house I currently rent yet it seems I would be expected to pay higher council tax for it. The new system will leave many victims of circumstance.
Martin Griffin, Gosport

I wouldn't mind paying council tax if I knew where it was going, it certainly doesn't get spent on my area because it's a disgrace.
Julia, Nottingham

There is no need to reform the council tax itself, rather what is needed is a return to its original purpose and its original levels of charging. The problem is that this government has used council tax as a stealth tax, following their unsustainable pledge not to increase income tax, and so council tax levels have spiralled out of control in parallel with the government's spending, which is also now out of control. The reforms needed to local taxation are a return to honesty, fair charging rates and an end to the government using local tax to bolster its own already excessive tax take.
Matt Davis, London, UK

I've seen the value of my house rise a good deal faster than my income David Anderson, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

For goodness sake, replace it with a local income tax that bears at least some relationship to people's ability to pay. Like a lot of people, I've seen the value of my house rise a good deal faster than my income. Sooner or later (and probably sooner), any tax based on property values is going to cause hardship.
David Anderson, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

I'm worried about the possibility that my mother, who has been living in a country cottage for 30 years, in an area that has recently seen enormous price increases as it seems to be considered to be JUST inside the commuter belt for London, is going to be forced to move because of the new "value" of her property. Her pension is her only real income these days, especially after the stock collapse.
Tim, UK

How on earth would a local income tax help services? The differences between different councils would be tremendous. Kensington and Chelsea would have gold plated buses, and Hackney would have nothing. It's just a joke.
Trem, Wolverhampton

I think there does need to be some sort of reform as the current system doesn't make sense. I live in a 2 bed mid terrace with my boyfriend and I pay the same council tax as my aunty who lives in a 4 bed semi with a husband and 3 kids. Who is using more council services? The system should be based on service use not value of property, otherwise it is just another stealth tax on those who have made something of themselves.
Vik, UK

Replace the council tax with local income tax. Ideally, no control should be imposed by central government. The tax system in general could do with significant decentralisation.
Martin, UK