Data for the 139 top-tier authorities that have proposed or confirmed increases so far show 85 per cent are planning a rise just short of 5 per cent – the threshold that would trigger a local referendum in normal circumstances.
When these councils are taken into account, the proportion of those set to increase council tax by at least 4.99 per cent rises to almost 90 per cent.
Based on trends in recent years, it is unlikely that a council tax rise proposed by senior councillors will be rejected by full council at this late stage of the budget process.
Only six other councils are planning to increase council tax by 4 per cent or less.
All upper-tier councils in the East Midlands, eastern England, the North East and the South West have proposed or confirmed their council tax increases.
Only two councils in the North East, South Tyneside and Stockton-on-Tees, plan increases below 4.99 per cent, both opting for 4.95 per cent.
Torbay (4.75 per cent) and Wiltshire (4.5 per cent) are the only authorities opting for increases below 4.99 per cent.
Of the 33 London councils, including the City of London, six are yet to disclose their council tax plans.
Among councils in the North West, 19 of the 21 that have confirmed plans decided on a 4.99 per cent rise.
In the South East, 16 of the 20 councils are planning a 4.99 per cent increase and one, Windsor & Maidenhead, in Berkshire, has been cleared to increase beyond the cap to 8.99 per cent.
Three of the 15 councils in the Yorkshire & Humber region have set council tax increases at less than 4 per cent: Rotherham has set a 3 per cent rise, North East Lincolnshire 3.98 per cent and Doncaster 3.99 per cent.
Wandsworth’s increase of 2 per cent represents the third year in a row that council tax has been frozen in the borough, which is said to have the lowest council tax in the country.
“Wandsworth has one of the lowest levels of debt and some of the highest financial reserves in London, allowing us to freeze the main element of council tax and invest in what matters most to you – cleaner streets, safer neighbourhoods and a stronger community.”
He said: “We do feel there is an element of penalising success and rewarding failure.
Potholes and ‘hellish’ cuts: The city facing 12.5% council tax hike
Read MoreHe said the council had found nearly £400m in savings since 2010 and would continue to look for further efficiencies.
The think tank said the poorest fifth of households across the UK paid 4.8 per cent of their income on council tax in 2020-21, up from 2.9 per cent in 2002-3 and three times more than the 1.5 per cent spent by the richest fifth.
Lalitha Try, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “This terribly designed tax increasingly resembles the very thing it was meant to replace – the dreaded poll tax.”
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