I am glad today that Cornwall Council has resolved to stop the discount applied to 2nd homes council tax. The motion, put forward by the Independant and Conservative members asks the government to do away with the 10% discount and make the owners pay full council tax.
At a time when many are struggling it seems to me to be stupid to have a discount for someone who can afford a second house! Many including me would like to see the 2nd homes council tax doubled.
One of the most interesting parts of this motion was the declarations of interest at the start of the meeting. It will be screened on here shortly.http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=24486
Members who own a 2nd home had to declare an interest in this item. Many Councillors declared the interest which they must justify to the electorate. It is unfortunate that at a time when many in Cornwall are in need or a 1st home some of our elected members have two.
One of the most interesting declarations came from Cllr Pat Rogerson. Cllr Rogerson is the mother of our MP in North Cornwall Dan Rogerson. Dan has been very vocal in his opinions about the 2nd homes problem in North Cornwall for some time. Stating it artificially inflates the housing market and takes homes out of the market that should be available for local people. I agree with him.http://www.danrogerson.org/2007/05/10/rogerson-tackles-second-homes/
However I believe it is rank hypocrisy for him to be saying things that he knows to be true when a member of his own family is doing the exact opposite. I wonder how his electorate will feel about this revaluation. I would suggest they probably won't like the double standards shown here.
We can be relieved to know today that we have solved this problem and the increase in revenue will be set aside for building local housing. This could be up to 1 million pounds a year.
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