Slash taxes to level up, Chancellor warned

As a paper by Onward think tank set out, cutting council tax rates in the lowest band and raising it for the highest would give poorer households, with a higher propensity to consume, more spending power. Rich households can absorb higher council rates.

The report considers which tax changes might have the biggest impact on helping people in the most deprived parts of the country as we recover from a global pandemic.

MP for North Devon, Selaine Saxby, considers the impact of different taxes on the South West using Onward's modelling in 'Levelling Up the Tax System'.

The think tank Onward argues that many taxes are regionally regressive and are borne mostly by less affluent regions.

A Conservative think-tank has called on Ministers to reform the tax system to boost 'Britain's lagging regions' as it emerged that people in Yorkshire pay nearly twice as much of their income as council tax compared with Londoners.

The think-tank Onward called for cuts in the lower council tax bands to boost northern areas and help 'level up' the nation. It said council tax in London was the lowest per head despite high property prices.

Onward's director, Will Tanner, identified reforms to council tax, capital allowances and personal income tax allowances as measures that could boost regional opportunity and growth.

Conservative thinktank Onward called for the chancellor to consider reforming the tax system, including by making council tax fairer, to close the gap between north and south.

Council tax should be a key target for reform, according to the think tank Onward in research for the Levelling Up Taskforce, which counts 65 'red wall' MP's among its backers.

Onward's report found Londoners pay an average £481 per head in council tax, the lowest in England despite much higher property prices, and 20pc less than households in poorer areas such as the South West and East of England.