Labour’s Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said: “Achieving a fairer council tax will be one of the single most beneficial actions this government can take towards making Wales a more equal nation.”
“The benefits will be felt in the pockets of many households.”
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an independent research group, said the UK and Scottish governments should follow the Welsh Government’s lead and update council tax.
But it said “it was a pity” the changes could be delayed beyond April 2025.
IFS associate director David Phillips said: “Nevertheless, the prospect of revaluation and reform in Wales stands in contrast to England and Scotland, which have failed to revalue properties since council tax was introduced in 1993.
“Westminster and Holyrood should take note of Wales and follow suit.”
Conservative Sam Rowlands said: “Since 1999 council tax in Wales has gone up by nearly 200%.
“The Labour government, in the typical spirit of wanting to make taxation more ‘progressive’, is stealthily planning on hiking up council tax for hard working people.”
Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell said: “It is widely recognised that council tax is outdated and long overdue for reform.
“This consultation is asking for the views of people across Wales on what a council tax could look like in the future and how we can make it fairer.”
Luke Young, assistant director of Citizens Advice Cymru, compared council tax to “a house with a dodgy roof”.
“Everyone knows that the roof needs replacing but we keep putting in these beams to prop it up, with an exemption here and an extra bit of support there,” he said.
Having more bands would help “spread the pain” between people on different incomes, Mr Young said.
“However it won’t solve the fundamental problems that we have people who can’t pay their council tax bills and end up in a debt crisis,” he added.
Since 2019 there has been an 11% rise in people going to the charity in arrears on their council tax.
Blaenau Gwent has the highest Band D council tax in Wales. But because the county has more homes in lower-value bands, the average bill there is one of the lowest in Wales.
