Tories urged to introduce council tax ‘tremendous bands’ for homes over £2million
Jeremy Hunt has been urged to introduce new council tax “super bands” for foreign-owned properties value greater than £2million.
It comes amid warnings the prevailing native levy in England – based mostly on the worth of a property in 1991 – is “broken” and desires main reform.
In a letter to the Chancellor, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) calls on the federal government to kick-start the method of re-evaluating all properties earlier than the following election. The group mentioned below the present system a Hartlepool resident with a home value £150,000 is paying over £200 a yr extra in council tax than the proprietor of a £8million Westminster property.
The group’s submission to the Chancellor forward of the Budget in March additionally calls on him to introduce three new council tax “super bands” for properties value over £2million. It says the cash could possibly be “shared across the country” and assist “less prosperous areas pay for key services such as children’s social care” going through large value pressures.
It provides: “These super bands could initially apply exclusively to foreign-owen properties; so excluding those owned by UK nationals or those with settled EU status. This would have the added benefit of cooling overheated markets, particularly in inner London, whereby a high proportion of properties are punchased as an investment by foreign owners, rather than as a principal residence.
“The earnings raised via this levy would come largely from a small variety of London councils and be transferred to areas with a decrease tax base and better want.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Henri Murison said council tax was “actively regressive”.
With warnings that one in five cash-strapped councils in England face bankruptcy, he said: “We’re very clear we’d like a greater settlement for our native authorities. Whatever the following authorities chooses to do about council tax – it could possibly’t keep as it’s. There is a protracted piece of labor to re-value all people in England’s dwelling.”
But the Tory peer Lord Eric Pickles also told the BBC reforming council tax would be “profoundly unpopular”. He said: “It must be reformed. It’s lengthy overdue being reformed. There must be a revaluation, enterprise charges must be reformed as a result of you’ll be able to’t reform one with out the opposite. And governments for a lot of generations have averted doing that as a result of it will likely be profoundly unpopular. As communities secretary I averted doing it, however I feel I had an inexpensive excuse, given the financial circumstances.”
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: “We haven’t any plans to conduct a nationwide re-evaluation.”
