Mark Garnier, Wyre Forest’s Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, has called for Government tax inspectors to come clean on their plans to increase taxes on family homes. New evidence has emerged of the Government preparing for a council tax revaluation across England, aimed at increasing tax bills in order to fill the black hole in Britain’s ruined public finances.
· Inspectors recording look of your house, scenic view and nice features: Leaked Government presentations have revealed how property attributes of every home are currently being recorded, logged and digitised and entered into a new Government database. Using complex mathematical techniques, the council tax banding of every home will then be calculated, pushing up council tax bills for the targeted homes.
The property attributes that are being recorded include architectural styles, fascias and even sash windows. ‘Value significant codes’ are logging and recording features like living in a quiet road; patios; roof terraces; balconies; sea or hill views; near a field or golf course; conservatories; double glazing; and the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage spaces and parking spaces in your home.
· 100,000 homes now logged for their scenic views: A Freedom of Information Act request has forced the Government to give a breakdown of the property codes collected so far across England. Even though the stealth council tax revaluation is incomplete and internal inspections of people’s homes have not yet started, the tax snoopers have already recorded 100,000 homes for having a scenic view, broken down by views of the sea, hills, lakes, fields and golf courses; 780,000 conservatories – including whether they are single or double glazed or have an adjoining greenhouse; the number of garage spaces of every home – including 1.1 million with two or more spaces; and 5,000 ‘value significant’ patios.
· Revaluation will lead to soaring council tax in Wyre Forest: Wales has already had a council tax revaluation in 2005, which saw four times as many homes moving up a council tax band as down. Moving up a tax band would increase the council tax bill for a typical home in Wyre Forest from £1,465 to £1,827 – a rise of £325 a year. However, this would not mean more money to spend on local services by Wyre Forest’s elected district council: The local council would receive correspondingly less central government grant – meaning the tax rise would be pocketed by Whitehall.
Mark Garnier said: “This is an example of how the Government is seeking to fill the black hole in the nation’s finances, created by Gordon Brown’s decade of hyper-spend. The Government had claimed that the council tax revaluations had been put on hold, but it is now clear that this re-valuation is destined to come into force after the next election, should Labour be returned for a fourth term. “This revaluation is offensive for so many reasons. In many cases, the revaluations take into account improvements on homes paid for, by homeowners, out of taxed earnings.
Incredibly, the Government has been urging homeowners to pay for double glazing to help combat global warming – and now they will tax you for that double glazing. “I am pleased to support the Conservative response to these tax raising plans: a Conservative government will scrap these plans, and remove inspectors’ rights to enter your home.”