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| Highest council tax bands 'to pay more' says Nicola Sturgeon | Highest council tax bands 'to pay more' says Nicola Sturgeon |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| People in Scotland's four highest council tax bands are to pay more under new Scottish government proposals. | |
| Under the proposals the average band E household would pay about £2 per week more, and the average household in the highest band about £10 a week more. | Under the proposals the average band E household would pay about £2 per week more, and the average household in the highest band about £10 a week more. |
| First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the move would raise £100m a year for education. | |
| The council tax freeze will also come to an end in 2017, with councils able to increase local taxes by up to 3%. | |
| The 75% of Scottish households that live in bands A to D would be unaffected by the changes, which would be introduced if the SNP is re-elected on 5 May. | |
| Council tax bills have been frozen in Scotland since 2007. | |
| A further 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes - more than one third of which are pensioner households - would be entitled to an exemption from the changes through the council tax reduction scheme. | A further 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes - more than one third of which are pensioner households - would be entitled to an exemption from the changes through the council tax reduction scheme. |
| The reforms would also provide additional support to families on low incomes across all council tax bands. | The reforms would also provide additional support to families on low incomes across all council tax bands. |
| This would be by extending the relief available to households with children, which the Scottish government said would benefit 77,000 low income families by an average of £173 per year and support an estimated 140,000 children. | This would be by extending the relief available to households with children, which the Scottish government said would benefit 77,000 low income families by an average of £173 per year and support an estimated 140,000 children. |
| Ms Sturgeon said the changes would ensure bills in every band were lower than they would have been had the freeze not been in place. | |
| Across Scotland, average rates in all bands will remain lower than the average in England, she added. | |
| Ms Sturgeon also said there were no plans for a revaluation of properties. | |
| 'Household incomes' | |
| Scotland's 32 councils currently raise about 15p of every pound they spend from council tax, with many local authorities arguing that the freeze was threatening jobs and local services. | |
| Speaking at an event at Lasswade High School in Midlothian, Ms Sturgeon said the council tax reforms would "protect household incomes, support investment in our schools, make local taxation fairer and ensure local authorities continue to be properly funded while becoming more accountable". | |
| She added: "The Commission on Local Tax Reform made clear that the present system could be made fairer. We are choosing to do this in a reasonable and balanced way that will also generate £100m of additional revenue to invest in schools. | |
| "These reforms to council tax bands will mean no change for three out of every four Scottish households, with those in lower banded properties paying no more than they do now." | |
| The cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform reported in December that the current system was in need of change. | |
| Scotland's other political parties are expected to set out their proposals for local taxation soon. |