Barnsley Council is calling on the government for flexibility in the amount of council tax discount it gives to single people.
Council leader Steve Houghton says the local authority has no plans to abolish the discount altogether but wants the power to vary the 25 per cent discount awarded to the 36,506 people who live alone in the borough.
The request has been backed by the Local Government Association, which is the national voice for local councils.
Mr Houghton said should the idea be approved, it would 'make the whole system much fairer'.
"It's the only part of the council tax benefit system which isn't based on income and is fixed, yet we are having to cut council tax benefit for the poorest families in the borough."
"I know a chief executive of another local authority who is paid £150,000 a year and receives the single person council tax discount. Tell me, how is that fair?
"The idea of this is to bring the discount into line with the others. We want the ability to be flexible and manage it like we have the other discounts.
"It should have been included in the package of measures for council tax benefits and linked to income.
"Had it been included, we could have used some of the money that would have been saved to mitigate the impact we've seen on low income families who've had a 15 per cent reduction in their council tax benefit.
"If we could be flexible by reducing the single person discount by five per cent, we might not have had a 15 per cent reduction for those of working age at all."
Mr Houghton said the Barnsley authority is not alone in calling for the change.
"It's not just Barnsley council that is wanting this but all the northern metropolitan local authorities want it."
"We do not want to take the 25 per cent discount off people but we want the ability to be flexible with it and make it fair. So far it is the poorest families that have suffered. This would spread the burden."
A council spokesman said: "At the moment, every single person receives a 25 per cent discount regardless of their income.
"This flexibility, if granted by the government, would help to offset some of the reductions in council tax benefit that are affecting the poorest families."
