Council's Cabinet supports council tax reform proposals
Last updated: 23/11/2012
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Members of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet have supported proposals
to remove council tax discount for second homes and to introduce a
150% premium on properties which have been empty for more than two
years as part of a package of measures aimed at bringing empty
homes back into use as quickly as possible and generating
additional income to help maintain frontline services.
The recommendations from today’s Cabinet meeting, which will now be
discussed by both the Corporate Resources and Communities Overview
and Scrutiny Committees later this month before going to the
full Council for a final decision, include:
- Setting the council tax discount for Second Homes at 0%
(second homes currently receive a 10% discount)
- Replacing the current council tax exemption for empty homes
undergoing major repairs with a 50% discount for a period of one
year only (these properties are currently exempt from any
council tax for up to one year, with full council tax payable
afterwards)
- Replacing the current council tax exemption for vacant,
unfurnished homes with a 100% discount for a period of the first
vacant two months only ( these properties are currently
exempt from any council tax for up to six months, with full council
tax payable afterwards)
- Levying an Empty Homes premium of 50% on an home which has been
empty for more than two years – giving a total Council Tax
liability of 150% (
Introducing the report Fiona Ferguson, the Council’s portfolio
holder for resources, said that the issue of council tax discount
on second homes had long been a concern in Cornwall and she
welcomed the Government’s decision to change the legislation to
allow local authorities greater flexibility in making council tax
reforms.
Adding that the Council had acted immediately to take advantage
of the new powers, she said removing the existing 10% discount on
second homes would ensure that the owners of these properties made
the same contribution to maintaining vital services as local
residents. The other reforms would also help encourage owners
and landlords to ensure that empty properties are brought back into
use as quickly as possible.
“At a time of financial uncertainty and increasing pressures on
our budget, these proposals will help to increase council tax
income and I hope they will help to encourage owners not to have
properties empty for a significant period of time” she
said.
The recommendations will be discussed at the meeting of the
full Council on 11 December.
Council tax
information