INFLATION-BUSTING council tax bills could land on tens of thousands of York doormats in the wake of revaluation, a leading city councillor warned today.

Liberal Democrat finance chief, Quentin Macdonald, said a "significant" number of residents faced a tax hike in 2007.

Concerned officers who control Guildhall purse strings have already warned one in three of York's 80,000 homes - mostly currently made up of Bands B, C and D - could shift up a band.

Critics of the evaluation, citing Wales as an example as it is two years ahead of England in the revaluation shake-up, claim the bill for an average property may add about £250 to a bill of nearly £1,200.

But the Government today said any comparison with Wales was futile. A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said Coun Macdonald was talking "nonsense".

However, the Liberal Democrat member said residents in York should brace themselves for higher bills when banding levels based on 1991 house prices are finally overhauled.

He said: "As York is an area which has seen above average house price rises, it is likely to see above average numbers of people forced into bands.

"We are concerned the unfair council tax system is about to get worse for the people of York." He said in Wales, after revaluation, 33 per cent of properties were bumped up one band, with only eight per cent moving down. In Cardiff, he said 64 per cent of homes moved up and two per cent dipped.

In the worst hit wards, Coun Macdonald added, 90 per cent of properties would move up.

The councillor, who called for the current system to be scrapped and replaced by a local income tax, continued: "The forecast for York is not good. In the period 1996 to 2004, house prices in England and Wales increased by 154 per cent, but in York they increased by 189 per cent.

"This makes York a prime target for properties being moved up a band or more.

"At this stage it is impossible to be sure what the effect will be in York, but there is every probability the result will be a large number of homes being pushed into a higher band."

Revaluation results are not due before Christmas 2005.

An ODPM spokesman said revaluation was about fairer distribution, not raising more money.

He said: "Ministers have said countless times that Wales can't be seen as a precursor for England. Wales makes its own decision on banding and no comparison can be drawn between the two."

The spokesman added that house prices had shot up across most of the country, although regional banding could be considered to take into account areas like York.

Updated: 08:41 Friday, August 12, 2005