House rates to be 0.6 of house value!

maccaz

I work in VLA for my troubles
A few comments here are correct, but I try my best to let you know what I know.

You house will now have a Capital Value instead of a Rental Value.
The Capital Value will be as of 1st January 2005.

0.6% is the figure being used is an average at the minute. Your own council will set the figure (as they do at the minute) and this will greatly differ from council to council.

The purpose of the change to capital value is to try and make it fairer, the more your house is worth the more you pay in rates.

NAR

Also there will be no upper limit on the rates figures.

BigAl94

Please explain to me how this is fair. A widow in her late eighties living in a house on her own in Belfast where she has lived for 60 years and now worth around £250K, facing a rates bill of minimum £1500 compared to around £600 at present? Plus water rates, there are houses around her with many people living in them, the only "fair" way is to include an occupancy figure in the calculation.

IvanOpinion

BigAl94 wrote:

Please explain to me this is fair. A widow in her late eighties living in a house on her own in Belfast where she has lived for 60 years and now worth around £250K, facing a rates bill of minimum £1500 compared to around £600 at present? Plus water rates, there are houses around her with many people living in them, the only "fair" way is to include an occupancy figure in the calculation.

I agree totally with you BigAl. I have always said that the rates should include an element of income (which it does), an element related to the value of the property (which it does) and an element related to the occupancy (which it does NOT) ... that is the only fair way to charge local taxes.

Also, as is usual, approximately 1 in 3 people in Northern Ireland will be expected to pick up the vast majority of the bill for the remaining 2 in 3.

Ivan

Grumpy_Old_Duffer

Please tell me this new 'Rates Levy' is in Northern Ireland & not the UK mainland!

This IS NOT a fair way to calculate rates!:eek:

IvanOpinion

Grumpy_Old_Duffer wrote:

Please tell me this new 'Rates Levy' is in Northern Ireland & not the UK mainland!

This IS NOT a fair way to calculate rates!:eek:

You will be pleased to hear it is NI only .. maybe there is just nobody with enough intelligence in our local government to come up with a fair rates system (they all seem to be far too busy championing the (so called) 'poor' in society to worry about sensible legislation).

Ivan

Grumpy_Old_Duffer

IvanOpinion wrote:

You will be pleased to hear it is NI only .. maybe there is just nobody with enough intelligence in our local government to come up with a fair rates system (they all seem to be far too busy championing the (so called) 'poor' in society to worry about sensible legislation).

Ivan

Phew!!!! Commiserations!!!

Should have looked at the thread group :rolleyes:

maccaz

bawbag wrote:

Wish I lived back in Belfast! Our council tax for a 3 bed terrace in Glasgow South is £2250 a year!!

Shocker, count yourselves lucky!

Not saying what we have will be perfect, but I wouldn't want to have to pay council tax in Glasgow :eek:

I'm only a poor civil servant (getting minimum wage) so no matter what I have to pay I'll struggle.
As for paying for occupancy, how is that any better?
If a house is worth £100,000 with one person living in it, why should they pay less than me? When I have a wife and a few weans to support?

Also the lady living in a house for 60 years and the house is worth £250,000 she should contact the rates office and see if they can help her in anyway.

PS I'm not defending this system in anyway.
Also the capital value will be set til 2012, so any increases in rates will be by your district councils.

badabing

i think fairest of all would be to install metering for everyone.

BigAl94

"If a house is worth £100,000 with one person living in it, why should they pay less than me? When I have a wife and a few weans to support?"

Easy - more people produce more rubbish, more people to use leisure and other facilities, in many cases multiple incomes, in simple terms, the more people that benefit, more should be paid.

badabing - i think you must be referring to water rates!