People in higher council tax bands are being told they will need to pay more to make it fairer.

Changes being worked on by the Scottish Government with councils will see bands E to H having a big increase next year with the lower bands, A to D, staying the same.

Councils have been asking for more money as the Scottish Government has cut budgets leaving gaps of tens of millions of pounds in Glasgow, leading to cuts and job reductions.

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The proposal will see, from next April, Band E going up by 7.5%, Band F up by 12.5%, Band G 17.5% and Band H up by 22.5%

It would take an average band E across Scotland to £2001, F to £2590, G to £3259 and H to £4251.

The Scottish Government said a minority of properties would be affected with one in four paying the higher band charges.

Tom Arthur, public finance minister, 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.”

A consultation on the plan is open until September 20.

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Council body Cosla, said it is intended to make the system fairer.

Katie Hagmann, Cosla resources spokesperson, said: “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.”

Opposition politicians, however, said the problem is Scottish Government cuts

Liz Smith, Conservatives finance spokesperson, 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.

“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.”