Council tax bills will increase by more than twice the level of inflation this year, according to a new survey.

The study for the Times of 200 councils reveals that average bills will increase by 4.4 per cent - about £45 a year on the benchmark band D property - and local authorities have warned of even steeper rises in 2006.

Council leaders said the initial increases had been curbed because of a government "pre-election bribe" and threats that rates would be capped.

But many authorities reported their reserves had run dry and council tax would have to increase further next year unless they are allocated extra funds from Westminster.

Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, said councils had tried to reduce levels this year.

Bit he added: "Much of the funding this year is a one-off grant and ministers have said it will not be repeated, which makes rises inevitable next year unless the Treasury fills the black hole."

Rebel councils

Twelve rebel councils will defy government by setting tax increases of between five and 100 per cent.

South Cambridgeshire said it would go ahead with a 100 per cent rise and risk being capped after three years of freezing their council tax levels.

Local government minister Nick Raynsford  has written to 27 authorities warning them to revise their totals.

He said he would apply capping, and he pointed out most of the rebels were Tory authorities - suggesting they were making a political point.

"It does appear rather striking that Tory-controlled districts are most at risk of being capped," he said.

Raynsford added that the proposed rises were the lowest for a decade, and Gordon Brown’s decision to redirect £512 million of government funds to local authority grants had paid off.

'Bribery and bullying'

Caroline Spelman, Tory spokesman for local government, said: "Mr Blair claimed that he had 'no plans to increase tax at all'.

"But council tax has soared by 70 per cent since 1997, and is just one of the 66 stealth taxes Labour have heaped on hardworking people.

"These latest rises are double the rate of inflation — and it is clear Labour are planning to drive them up even further if elected to a third term in office."

Liberal Democrat spokesman Ed Davey said: "Council tax has been artificially suppressed by a pre-electoral concoction of bribery and bullying."

"The 'bribery' came in the form of an extra £1 billion given to councils this year, with no guarantee that this would be repeated next year.

"The 'bullying' came in the form of a threat to cap councils that introduced an increase of more than five per cent."