Rachel Reeves is considering a move that could see the doubling of council tax for more than a million households.
The Chancellor is said to be eyeing up a 100 per cent increase on the two highest council tax bands – G and H.
The plans would see average bills rise from £3,800 to £7,800 for residents in a Band G household.
And for those living in a Band H household, the typical bill could increase from £4,580 to £9,120, according to The Telegraph.
Critics have suggested that this move would overwhelmingly impact households in London and the South East.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, added it would leave many pensioners ‘forced out of their home’ as they are unable to afford the drastic increase.
She said: ‘Creating new higher council tax bands will hammer people who have lived in the same house for decades, particularly pensioners, some of whom will be unable to pay this new tax and be forced out of their home.’
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK added: ‘It is an assault on assets and will cause huge consternation amongst older people living in properties they bought many years ago.’
Ahead of the Budget on November 26, Reeves has been tasked with filling a £30billion black hole in the public finances.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured speaking at the CBI National business dinner in June 2025) has been tasked with filling a £30billion black hole in public finances ahead of the Budget at the end of the month
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured speaking at a rally on October 30, 2025) said that the plans to increase tax would ‘hammer’ people who have lived in the same house for decades, particularly pensioners
She is said to view council tax increases as one of the easiest ways to raise necessary funds.
Reeves is also reported to be considering a 20 percent charge on the holdings of those quitting the country for low tax havens which could net the Treasury £2billon.
It comes after fears were raised earlier this year that as many as 16,500 millionaires would leave the UK this year because of hostile tax changes and plummeting economic confidence.
The new ‘settling up charge’ is said to be very likely because the UK, alongside Italy, is currently an ‘outlier’ among G7 countries who already impose similar taxes.
The Chancellor has been engulfed by scandal since the Daily Mail revealed that she had been illegally renting out her south London property for £3,200 a month without the proper licence.
After initially telling Sir Keir Starmer she had been unaware of the rules, she was humiliated when emails between her husband and their lettings agency, Harvey & Wheeler, revealed extensive conversations about the need to secure the paperwork.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (pictured at a press conference on October 27, 2025) said the Chancellor’s plans ‘is an assault on assets’
Now a source has told this newspaper that before engaging that company, Ms Reeves and her husband had approached blue-chip estate agency Knight Frank about managing the property – and were warned about the need for the licence.
The revelation raises fresh questions about the Chancellor’s initial insistence to the Prime Minister that she was not aware of the legal requirements, given that two separate estate agents raised the issue.
A Knight Frank spokesman said: ‘It is standard procedure to notify all clients of their legal and regulatory obligations when letting a property.’