Council Tax blow for second home owners.
Well I would have to say about time this happen. I have always said if you can afford a second home you can afford to pay the full amount on your council tax ;)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8857774/Council-tax-blow-for-second-home-owners.html
Posted by David Furmage to swanageview at 30/10/11 9:26 AM
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High earners can probably afford to pay full council tax twice, but why should we be taxed again and again? Someone earning a £1,000,000 a year contributes at least £600,000 in tax already. If you include VAT and other duties we must be paying more like £750,000 a year. Enough ;)
Not enough in my books ;) some people would like to get on the propety ladder , this might now give them the chance to do so. Thanks Ed.
"someone earning £1,000,000 a year contributes at least £600,000 in tax already"?
what planet do you live on, people who earn that much have accountants that find every means possible to avoid paying tax. most of them pay little or no tax on their huge salaries.
You cannot get around PAYE, and any scheme devised soley to avoid tax is illegal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8710105/66pc-the-true-level-of-tax-paid-by-higher-earners.html
Shame to see David Furmage bashing the second home owners who bring a lot of revenue to Swanage via the shops, restaurants, pubs etc. Especially when the traders need the business. Hopefully most of them will be able to cough up the extra council tax (despite not receiving full services all year. )
As for the bit about helping others onto the property ladder - what is all that about ? If someone sells their second home how does that help a youngster? If they already had the money they would buy one now. There are already properties on the market. Perhaps there is some hope this action will help reduce house prices. Don't hold your breath - Swanage is just too attractive.
Isn't this a case of thoughtless grockle bashing? What we should be doing is encouraging more people to work hard so they can buy a second home if they want one.
I think there are 2 sides to this you have the 2nd home owner who gets all their supplies including petrol etc out side of town even bringing down outside trades people, this does no good to local services, and bussines. You then have the ones who use local shops buy petrol etc from the town and go out mingle and use local services ( of which I know many). as for not using the services all year perhaps they could as they leave town tell the firebrigade police service road sweepers etc not to lok after their places when they are not there. I dont use the education system but still chip in.
To be perfectly fair, as with the proposal to tax granny flats separately, two families (or perhaps two generations) living in one house should get two lots of council tax?
Here is a thought. I am old enough to remember the ratepayers franchise which gave you a second vote in council elections if you owned business premises. Could this change to council tax be the thin end of the wedge aimed at softening us up for the introduction of a council tax paerys vote in local elections?
To be perfectly fair, as with the proposal to tax granny flats separately, two families (or perhaps two generations) living in one house should get two lots of council tax
Sorry old mum or dad you cannot live here we might have to pay for 2 lots of council tax. get bl$ody real. make some of the scroungers pay more not hard working respectable families.
I am not bashing 2nd homes , just stating the fact that this is a good time coming. Yes they do bring alot of money don't get me wrong , thou come winter time most houses are empty and when I live at my mums with my 2 boys and my girlfriend lives at hers with her kids and my new born baby cos the council see us as not a priority and say there are no houses big enough in Swanage. Thou you walk about and see empty second homes. Yeah it does pee me off a bit , so would it anyone else who is in the same situation as us;)
Also if you read the article " the last 20 years, second-home ownership has grown dramatically, particularly in coastal areas such as Cornwall, Cumbria and Norfolk, where some claim it pushes up property prices and makes it harder for local people to get on the property ladder."
And I also know alot of local people who do work hard and still can't afford a house in swanage;) So I am hoping this will help some families;)
"make some of the scroungers pay more not hard working respectable families."
Dear oh dear, first it was letting the "hardworking" mess up old buildings in the hope of making money (in another thread) now its charging the "respectable" less tax than the rest of us. Which century are you people living in? Do you ever think about what you are writing or is it easier simply to parrot the tabloid's nonsense? Please, one set of rules for all of us an d no ridiculous moralising.
"To be perfectly fair, as with the proposal to tax granny flats separately, two families (or perhaps two generations) living in one house should get two lots of council tax."
You have got this the wrong way round. The current position is that granny annexes are taxed seperately. The proposal is to end this. Its a sweetner for the middle class with large homes with annexes.
Abolishing the granny flat tax is a good idea if it frees up some family homes
Thanks for correction
In reply to the first response Arlington why should they be taxed again, well its a council tax. If you must have two homes in different locations then you should pay council tax at both. Makes sense.
A small observation: those who can afford to buy second holiday home in a place such as Swanage can probably afford paying the full council tax. I do just that: when I emigrated and became a property owner abroad, I kept my flat in Swanage and began to pay the full rates without any major difficulty.
If the problem is a need to create affordable housing, then this is a separate - and much greater - issue than council tax.
Whew!!!!
For a moment, I thought this was about seCOnd home property tax!
Bad luck for those with a SECNOD home!
If it "Makes sense" then why not raise all local government tax locally ie quadruple council tax and reduce income tax accordingly?
I have two homes; one is a holiday home in Swanage. I consider it a PRIVILEGE to be able to relax here, away from my work environment.
I AM ENTIRELY HAPPY to pay full local rates and taxes to support the essential services, and especially schools (my children are long grown up) and do whatever I can to make Swanage prosperous. It is right that I do so.
This (I believe) is the general feeling amongst those of us who have been fortunate to have a second home here.
A few good friends of mine have a second home in town and they have the same attitude as the above poster which is nice to see. Though have met some who say locals should get of their a$$ and do some work , then they might get a house in town. Those are the ones who deserve everything they get. Plus they believe shopping out of town is better as we have no shps here ;(
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