Researchers have called for the whole council tax system to be replaced as one measure that could help the Chancellor meet her fiscal rules.
A report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warned that the Government could fall short in meeting the fiscal rules by over £40bn.
According to the NIESR, the Government’s Autumn Budget will require ‘substantial’ adjustments to resolve the £41.2bn ‘deficit’ that is predicted for 2029-30.
As a policy option, NIESR researchers suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves create a ‘large fiscal buffer’ through ‘moderate but sustained’ tax increases.
The report calls for council tax band reforms, as well as proposing that the Chancellor might ‘consider replacing the whole council tax system with a land value tax’.
However, it added that such reforms had ‘proved to be extremely difficult politically’ in the past.
