Proposed hikes to council tax for more valuable homes across Helensburgh and Lomond could bring in an extra £4million to the local authority.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on raising council tax levels significantly for bands E, F, G and H.

It could affect more than 15,000 council tax payers across Argyll and Bute who are on higher bands.

On a sliding scale, bands E, F, G and H would increase by 7.5 per cent, 12.5 per cent, 17.5 per cent and 22.5 per cent, to address concerns about the fairness of the charge. The SNP had previously pledged to scrap council tax entirely and replace it with a "fairer" system.

Based on calculations by the Advertiser of current council tax bands and the number of properties assessed at each band level, there would be 15,555 homes affected across the local authority.

Those currently, at an ideal, bring in more than £34 million to council coffers.

The rate hikes would bring that up to more than £38m, before any reductions or rebates.

READ MORE: Argyll and Bute Council backs no discount on second home council tax

There are more than 33,000 properties at bands A, B, C and D, or almost 59 per cent of properties in the area.

Opposition parties have denounced the changes.

News of the plans leaked earlier this month with a Cosla report, leading to Dave Moxham of the STUC claiming the proposal is "tinkering around the edges" when the whole system should instead be scrapped.

Some 28 per cent of properties in Scotland are believed to be in the bands that would be impacted, slightly lower than the percentage in Argyll and Bute.

After the increase, the Scottish Government said, the average payment in the highest band would be £4,251 per year.

As the consultation was launched on Wednesday, public finance minister Tom Arthur said: "We have listened to calls for the council tax system to be made fairer, as presently more of the burden falls on those in the lower bands when considered as a proportion of the value of their property.

READ MORE: Argyll and Bute council tax to rise by 5 per cent after budget vote

"The changes would only affect around a quarter of properties and even after they are taken into account, average council tax in Scotland would still be less than anywhere else in the UK.

"We know that many people are struggling with their finances and our council tax reduction scheme is there to ensure nobody has to pay a council tax bill they cannot be expected to afford, regardless of what band they are in.

"I would encourage anyone who has views on these proposals to complete our consultation before it closes on September 20, 2023, to help us determine if they should be taken forward."

Katie Hagmann, resources spokeswoman at Cosla, said: "For many years there have been calls to make the council tax system fairer.

"We are pleased to be working jointly with the Scottish Government to explore ways that we can achieve this.

"A fairer and more progressive council tax is what the proposals in this consultation aim to do."

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, said: "Years of brutal cuts by the SNP have left local Council services at breaking point, and now the government wants to plug the gaps with eye-watering council tax hikes of up to £815.41 in Argyll and Bute.

“It is a scandal that ordinary Scots are once again being asked to pay more while getting less in return.

“This damaging Council Tax bombshell will hit 14,963 households in Argyll and Bute during the worst cost of living crisis in decades, piling pressure on people already facing impossible financial decisions.

"Scots struggling with rising housing costs should be getting support from their government – but instead they are being asked to foot the bill for the SNP’s failure.
“Labour will stand up for people struggling with soaring living costs and fight for a fair deal for Argyll and Bute.”