Official statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that councils are on course to rake in £635 million profit from motorists in parking charges and fines this year.
The figures also show that councils will make £34 million more in net income from parking charges than they did last year, leading to accusations that town halls treasurers are using motorists as 'cash cows' to plug holes in local government finances.
Local Government secretary Eric Pickles said: "This £635 million municipal parking profit shows why we need to review and rein in unfair town hall parking rules.
"This government has scrapped the last administration's Whitehall rules which told councils to hike up parking charges and adopt aggressive parking enforcement.
"But councils aren't listening, and local shops and hard-working families are suffering as a result. The law is clear that parking is not a tax or cash cow for town hall officers."
The news come just a week after a High Court judge ruled it illegal for councils to raise parking charges to subsidise other services, after Barnet council in north London increased the cost of residents' parking permits and visitor vouchers.
Concerns have also been raised that town hall parking rules are undermining local high streets and harming the economic recovery. A 2012 survey found that almost 70 per cent of people avoided their local shopping area due to high parking prices. Two thirds said that they'd return to the high street if parking was more affordable.
Eric Pickles suggested earlier this week that the situation could be improved if motorists were allowed a 'grace period' of fifteen minutes when parked on double yellow lines before they get fined. The plans were met with opposition by the Liberal Democrats who described the scheme as "unworkable".
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