er 'great' Tax on 'peace and quiet' revealed

[DR]

Living near a bus stop or corner shop and even enjoying "peace and quiet" will lead to a hike in council tax for householders, under Government plans.

The tax on "nice neighbourhoods" is being planned as part of the council tax revaluation, with proposals expected within weeks.

Secret manuals by the Valuation Office Agency, an arm of HM Revenue and Customs, used in the controversial 2005 council tax revaluation in Wales, reveal that many homes near shops and public transport, with pleasant views and in quiet locations were penalised, with higher council tax bills. There are now plans for the same system to be rolled out across England.
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The handbooks were obtained by the Conservatives using parliamentary questions to force the Government to publish them for the first time.

The plan follows revelations in this newspaper that people who live in areas with good schools, clean streets and low crime rates face big increases in their council tax bills.

Home owners and tenants will be charged hundreds, and possibly thousands, of pounds extra if they live in a locality deemed by ministers and officials to be more desirable than others. The rises could be as great as four times, sending some bills from £1,000 to £4,000.

The manual shows that even mobile homes were given higher council tax bills for being located in a quiet spot or near conveniences.

Inspectors were instructed to take photographs of the homes, logging the "convenience to local services, such as shops, bus routes, local communities".

Home improvements and double glazing were taxed, with kitchen units, bathroom suites and central heating driving up bills.

Sophisticated computer equipment is being used in the revaluation of all 21 million homes in England, assessing size, features and location.

Caroline Spelman MP, the shadow local government secretary, said: "Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a civilised society. This is the hallmark of an oppressive and greedy government - finding ever more stealthy ways to tax working families and pensioners."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.../18/ntax18.xml

They will employ valuation inspectors, who will have the power to enter private homes at will in order to see if the owners have things like: conservatory, nice views, new kitchen, loft conversion etc
DR

[0iD]

Cripes, better get some chavs to move in & put up some conifers to disguise the picturesque view of the Stour estuary then. This government just goes from bad to worse.

[[GSV]Trig]

So you work your ass off, get taxed to the bone to get a nice house for you and your family and then they tax u on that as well, talk about taking the piss...

[Gumby]

Any excuse to tax something I guess... These kind of proposals are just getting silly :/ Much like the pay as you go car tax.

[Steve B]

if i lived in england, i would defaecate on my windows,
oh look at the lovely views

[kickstart 1]

Wouldnt it be better to tax people less for taking pride in their homes/areas? Maybe then the ones who didnt care so much would think twice about making an effort.

[chuckskull]

Looks like I'll be in the money

Hooray for living in a hell hole.

[BUFF]

supposedly they are also planning on increasing the valuation if car parking is available outside your house - even if you don't have a car ...

[Hans Voralberg]

Wonder when they will start taxing you for being alive ?

[Clunk]

Details of a new fart tax have been leaked. The press got wind of it tonight, more details to follow through.





Sorry.

[capt_cornflake]

Er, isn't this just the old story about revaluing homes for the purposes of council tax, but just spun by the Tories for the purposes of scaremongering?

Whether it's right or not to base council tax on the value of your house is an arguable point, but if they are going to do that, wouldn't it be better to base it on an accurate value, rather than figures from 15 years ago?

While some people will end up moving into a higher band if they've built extensions or prices in their area have increased more than the rest of that councils area, but equally some people will no doubt drop a band as well.

[mcmiller]

arent they trialing it in wales or so i read in the newspaper

[Kezzer]

I thought increased taxes were to improve the quality of living? If so, why are people complaining? To remove an annoyance for a fee is certainly worth it? Plus, you don't HAVE to live in the areas which will have extra tax.

Personally I'd prefer to pay more in house prices than in tax, but I'm just pointing out the purposes in tax and how it's most probably a justified course of action.

[chicken]

So under this ruling obviously tax is going to go down for anyone living in a not-very-nice place yes...?

Ha!

[kalniel]

Er, isn't this just the old story about revaluing homes for the purposes of council tax, but just spun by the Tories for the purposes of scaremongering?

Whether it's right or not to base council tax on the value of your house is an arguable point, but if they are going to do that, wouldn't it be better to base it on an accurate value, rather than figures from 15 years ago?

While some people will end up moving into a higher band if they've built extensions or prices in their area have increased more than the rest of that councils area, but equally some people will no doubt drop a band as well.

Yup. It's just a fairer revaluation - if you've taken a small house and turned it into a mansion with extensions then you should pay more council tax.

Likewise discounts for living in less nice areas is also sensible - in fact it's practically in place already, because houses in nice areas sell for more thus have higher value so will come up higher in a revaluation.

[Kezzer]

So under this ruling obviously tax is going to go down for anyone living in a not-very-nice place yes...?

Ha!

The government would reduce tax rates?