Discussion
Read an article about this. Apparently, the criminals disappear without paying up and are presumably never heard from again. Then I read an article two pages into the same paper about how the government is about to introduce a new level of Council Tax banding to punish the owners of £250000+ houses.
not to worry.. the housing market is about to collapse and 80% of the people whose property falls into that band will be sliding right back out of it again in the next 12 months as their property value descends to well below their equity threshold..
daved said:Then I read an article two pages into the same paper about how the government is about to introduce a new level of Council Tax banding to punish the owners of £250000+ houses.
btw where did you read this, because it is alarming... ?
CarZee saidquote]not to worry.. the housing market is about to collapse and 80% of the people whose property falls into that band will be sliding right back out of it again in the next 12 months as their property value descends to well below their equity threshold..
btw where did you read this, because it is alarming... ?
It doesn't work like that. Valuations are based upon the value at a certain date (the anticedent valuation date)all values are taken back to that date so subsequent market changes have no effect.
New bands and a new valuation date, the current date is 1.April 1991 make sense. The current bandings are,
A. Up to £40K
B. £40001-£52K
C. £52001-£68K
D. £68001-£88K
E. £88001-£120K
F. £120001-£160K
G. £160001-£320K
H. £320K+
So the threatened new band is already there. But more bands could mean that you pay less. Once the amount of money to be raised is agreed it is then divided pro-rata between the number of Council Tax liable properties. If there are more and finer bands and your property is in the right area of the band then you win, wrong part of the band and you may not win out.
If you try to work out the open market value of your property based upon freehold or a long lease and upon a reasonable state of repair on 1. April 1991 you will appreciate why a revaluation would make the system easier for the man on the Clapham omnibus to understand.
I recall hearing of a case where somebody owned a weekend cottage with no services at all. He was then presented with a counciltax bill which he queried because it was 'rather high'. Apparently he was told the valuation was made on the renting out basis, meaning he would have been assumed to have had all services connected. He argued this on the grounds he had owned it for 15years or so and had no intention of connecting services or renting it out. He lost.
According to the R2 news at 8.00 this morning, about 30% of all fines metered out in the courts are never paid. £58m written off last year. Hardly worth worrying about getting caught is it?
Yes it is. The people who don't pay are those who can't afford to - The pikeys, those on council estates who can't pay because they need to smoke 40 a day etc.... Look out for tougher penalties for those who are law abiding (i.e. have stuff registered in their names, are taxed and insured) who then don't pay....
kevinday said: I recall hearing of a case where somebody owned a weekend cottage with no services at all. He was then presented with a counciltax bill which he queried because it was 'rather high'. Apparently he was told the valuation was made on the renting out basis, meaning he would have been assumed to have had all services connected. He argued this on the grounds he had owned it for 15years or so and had no intention of connecting services or renting it out. He lost.
Valuation would have been on the basis of reasonable state of repair but based upon the 4/91 open market value. The absence of services would have reduced the market value but if they existed but were not connected by the supplier(s) it would have made no difference to the value. So the decision seems to be in line with the law.
Of course the valuation is nothing to do with the council it is the responsibility of the Valuation Office, an agency of the Inland Revenue. Decisions can be appealed via the Valuation Tribunal which consists of trained but independant members (including a number of PHers).
As a weekend cottage he would have course had a discount but it looks as though the law will shortly be changed to abolish that as an attempt to keep rural housing affordable.
PS. I do not work for a Local Authority Council Tax department who, in my experience, are mostly not very good at applying the Council Tax laws properly.
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