Households across England are facing an inflation-busting £2bn council tax raid this spring despite Rishi Sunak’s promise of pre-election giveaways to save his premiership. In a deal to address the worsening financial crisis hitting town halls across the country, officials in Michael Gove’s levelling up department have told local authority bosses they expect the maximum possible 4.99% increase to be applied to council tax in April. The increases are likely to add about £100 to a typical band D council tax bill, adding to the financial pressure on families, with inflation currently at 4%. It comes as Sunak prepares to put cuts to income tax at the heart of the Tories’ re-election strategy, with a raft of measures expected to be announced in the spring budget, to be paid for by “difficult decisions” to limit spending on public services and welfare. Local government leaders and experts warned that by raising council tax, the burden of the financial crisis in councils was being shifted to the poorest households. David Phillips, an economist at the Institute for …