SOARING council tax bills may soon be a thing of the past after a broad-based revolt against the unpopular tax has finally shaken the Government into action.

Swindon Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns) has been at the forefront of lobbying Government ministers for radical reforms to ease the burden on hard-hit taxpayers. So, too, has Frank Avenell and his Swindon Fairness for Pensioners Group.

Ministers have revealed to MPs that the present system will be scrapped within four years to be replaced by a regional tax formula.

The current eight tax bands will be replaced by a system that reflects local property prices and earnings.

Councils rated as efficient, which would not include Swindon in its present official status, will be allowed to raise cash by hiring out their workforce to the private sector.

All councils will also be entitled to keep a greater percentage of the business rates they collect, which would work in Swindon's favour as, compared with many towns of similar size, it has a highly-developed and profitable commercial base.

"This is a very positive step towards an acceptable form of regional government," said Coun Bawden.

"This sounds like we could be going in the right direction at last, but, as ever, the devil's in the detail."

Coun Bawden will meet this Friday with North Swindon MP Michael Wills to discuss the implications. Mr Wills will take the views of Swindon council back to Nick Raynsford, the Local Government Minister.

Mr Avenell is also in favour of reform "as long as it's cost-effective".

He said: "I'm always suspicious with these kind of changes that it will merely produce another tier of bureaucracy. How much will it cost to implement?

"My members are incandescent with rage over the present system, so what replaces it must be right this time. There's no room for any more botch-ups."

Mr Raynsford said: "We recognise the problems and unfairness within the existing council tax system, but it's dangerous to seek over-simplistic solutions."

That was why the Government had taken its time coming up with a new way of funding local authorities, he added.

The changes are expected to come into force in 2007 at the end of the Govern-ment's revaluation of properties.

Michael Litchfield