The Oxford Mail today reveals exactly how much council tax every homeowner will pay when bills for 2006/07 drop on the doormat in April.

Annual bills, which are calculated on property size and go towards paying for a variety of council services, will rise by an average of about four cent across Oxfordshire well above the rate of inflation.

And again it is pensioners on fixed incomes who are likely to be hardest hit by the increases.

OAPs, who currently receive a basic state pension of £82.05, are in line for a 2.7 per cent (or just over £2) rise in their weekly allowance from April, but maintain costs are spiralling so fast that soon they will not be able to afford to pay their council tax.

Last year Chancellor Gordon Brown gave every homeowning pensioner in the country a so-called £200 "Brown's Bonus" to help keep the cost of council tax down but there is no sign of a repeat this year.

Michael Hugh-Jones, a member of the Oxford Pensioners' Forum, said: "I don't feel the council tax is based on people's ability to pay, and I think some different method could and should be found to finance council services. I don't think an increase of four per cent is outrageous, it's reasonable, but some pensioners do undoubtedly find it hard to make ends meet.

"Council tax is not fair on pensioners because it's not based on their ability to pay, but rather the size of their house."

Some pensioners are entitled to claim council tax benefit, but many are put off by the confusing forms they have to fill in.

Last year, OAPs led a series of non-payment campaigns across the country.

Next month, members of the National Pensioners' Convention from across the country are planning to gather in London to lobby the Government for more money.

The bill for a Band D property the so-called average sized house on which all bills are calculated will cost between £1,210 and about £1,400 depending on where you live in the county.

Council tax bills are four bills rolled into one, with the amount paid shared between the four main providers of services Oxfordshire County Council, which is responsible for the lion's share of services, including waste management, roads maintenance, social services and schools; district councils like Oxford City Council responsible for housing, benefits payments, recycling and recreation; Thames Valley Police Authority; and town or parish councils.

This year was meant to witness the first mass revaluation of homes since 1991, but that plan has been shelved.

A mass revaluation of homes across the country could affect Oxfordshire harder than most.

Although no immediate revaluation is likely, county council finance chiefs are worried many houses in the county will jump council tax bands and, as a result, homeowners will be forced to pay higher bills.

It has been calculated that some could see a 24 per cent hike in their rates at a time when Government grants are decreasing.

County council leader Keith Mitchell says his authority's council tax rise of 4.375 per cent represents "value for money" but on the issue of revaluation, he admitted it was a "serious issue for the whole of the South East".

Debate still rumbles on about whether council tax, which replaced the controversial poll tax in 1993, is the fairest system of charging residents for the amenities they receive.

The Local Government Association, which represents councils, wants authorities to be able to raise a greater proportion of their income themselves rather than rely on annual Government handouts. One criticism is that under the present system, taxpayers find it difficult to see any clear connection between local taxes and local spending decisions and that council tax is unrelated to income.