SNP ministers have been accused of “tinkering around the edges” after drawing up plans to hike council tax by up to 22.5% for those who live in larger properties.
The Scottish Government has tabled proposals that could see those in the highest value properties asked to pay more if they can afford to.
The Scottish Tories said the move will “terrify” families during the cost-of-living crisis and accused ministers of “passing the back to councils”.
Union bosses have accused SNP ministers of “dressing up an inherently regressive council tax and selling it to the public as a progressive move”.
Reforming council tax was promised by the SNP back in 2007 but concrete plans have yet to materialise.
Read more: Council tax reforms kicked into long grass by SNP Government
Last year, SNP minister Tom Arthur told MSPs that any reform of a new system of council tax will not be rolled out until at least after the next Holyrood election in 2026.
But now Mr Arthur, in his same government role as under Nicola Sturgeon’s government in charge of public finance, has warned “more of the burden falls on those in the lower bands when considered as a proportion of the value of their property”.
If implemented, the plans would see council tax for homes in bands E, F, G and H increased on a sliding scale of 7.5%, 12.5%, 17.5% and 22.5%, to address concerns about the fairness of the charge.
Some 28% of properties in Scotland are believed to be in the bands that would be impacted, but only 0.5% of them are in the highest council tax band.
Read more: 1 in 4 Scots homes face targeted council tax hikes in 'brutal' plan
After the increase, the Scottish Government said, the average payment in the highest band would be £4,251 per year.
The Scottish Government says the proposals aim to address criticism that the system is unfair because at present those in the lower bands pay a higher proportion of the value of their property than those in the higher bands.
Officials say around 75% of properties would be unaffected if the proposals, which could be phased in over a period of three years if implemented.
Mr Arthur said: “We have listened to calls for the council tax system to be made fairer, as presently more of the burden falls on those in the lower bands when considered as a proportion of the value of their property.
“The changes would only affect around a quarter of properties and even after they are taken into account, average council tax in Scotland would still be less than anywhere else in the UK.
“We know that many people are struggling with their finances and our Council Tax Reduction scheme is there to ensure nobody has to pay a Council Tax bill they cannot be expected to afford, regardless of what band they are in.
“I would encourage anyone who has views on these proposals to complete our consultation before it closes on 20 September 2023, to help us determine if they should be taken forward.”
Katie Hagmann, Cosla resources spokesperson, said: “For many years there have been calls to make the council tax system fairer. We are pleased to be working jointly with the Scottish Government to explore ways that we can achieve this.
“A fairer and more progressive council tax is what the proposals in this consultation aim to do.
Read more: Half of Scots want council tax scrapped amid warnings of huge hikes
“This is a consultation about ways to make council tax more proportionate for everyone, so that householders pay their fair share towards the delivery of essential local services, including looking at those higher value properties.”
But Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesperson, Liz Smith, said: “These bombshell proposals from the SNP-Green Government will terrify people struggling to cope with the global cost-of-living crisis.
“People across Scotland should not be bearing the brunt of filling the black hole in councils’ finances.”
She added: “Local authorities are in dire straits due to savage cuts being imposed on their budgets year after year by SNP-Green ministers.
“Typically, those ministers are once again passing the buck to councils to make impossible decisions. Local authorities will either have to slash crucial day-to-day services or hammer people with enormous council tax bills, or a mixture of both.
“Rather than even considering these eye-watering hikes, SNP-Green ministers should finally give our councils the fair funding deal they deserve, which the Scottish Conservatives have repeatedly called for.”
Union bosses have also been left underwhelmed by the plans.
STUC general secretary, Roz Foyer, said: “It’s the correct call to find ways to increase local government resources but tinkering around the edges won’t cut it.
“The Scottish Government are dressing up an inherently regressive council tax and selling it to the public as a progressive move.”
She added: “This is only a short-term solution. We must see bolder moves to complete a wholesale rates review of properties throughout Scotland, replacing the council tax in addition to introducing wealth and property taxes.
“The STUC tax proposals launched last year demonstrated that the Scottish Government could raise £3.3 billion of extra revenue within a few years.
"Comprehensive change and ambition are required; we just need a government who is prepared to show it.”
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