Council Tax ?Unfair

drpachu

Hi
I have just finished speaking to the lady at local council and learnt that I need to pay 50% council tax for not living in the house!
i was told there is 6months exemption only if the house is totally empty ie without any furniture etc and will revert back to 50%
My situation is I am movinng out to rent in a different council area and have put of house on market with some funrinture in for viewing.
Isnt it unfair to ask for council tax which pays for things like school,roads,police,lighting,etc.i am not using theem,I am not paying!
anywhere else this is the case?is it right?

N79

"anywhere else this is the case?"

In many countries property tax goes with the ownership of the property and not occupancy so in many countries people pay the equivalent tax on empty properties. Whether it is fair or not I make no comment but it is the law. Just be thankful that you have the 50%. By law, the council only have to offer a 10% discount for unoccupancy (second home).

N79

pinkshoes

They do it because otherwise it's difficult to prove that the property is unoccupied, as you might be living there at weekends or something if the furniture is there.

It's also to help towns that have a HUGE percentage of holiday homes, because otherwise the local council would get very little income from the homes in the area, and the local residents (not the people who just come for the summer) would suffer as they'd loose out on money for facilities that is generated through council tax.

I guess you have the choice of selling it with no furniture in (give the impression that buyer can move in quickly if they want), or paying the 50% CT and keeping the furniture there!

You should be grateful, because I think in some areas you have to pay the FULL council tax, rather than 50%

elsien

You'd be using the police or fire services if there was an emergency at your house; roads still have to be maintained, and street lighting kept up whether you are in your house or not. I think it's fair enough to still have to pay something.

Cactusgirl

I was just about to start a thread on council tax - I just popped back home for lunch and 2 council tax people knocked on the door (apparently a letter was sent which we did not receive) Anyway as we moved in 2 months ago apparently any extensions that were made by the previous owner now have to be recalculated onto the value of the house in 1993 or whenever it was.

So as it has had a large kitchen extension and loft conversion looks like we might end up 2 bands up. We had no idea - we asked the vendors at the time of the council tax band and we budgeted that accordingly.

The solicitor and estate agents are not obliged to make you aware of this apparently?!

sooz

if you had checked your council tax here (and not just relied on what the owners said)

http://www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/cti_home.htm

there would have been an 'i' next to your house, telling you that the band was due to go up next time the house changed hands.

drpachu

well thanks for the responses.did help me to rationalise and be at peace with the system.

cats!

just to add - bands do not automatically change if there is an "i" next to the band. It just means it might be a possibility when the property changes hands (or in today's climate - repossessed by the lender!).

SquatNow

Council tax, payable by the occupant is unfair.

All taxes should be scrapped and replaced by a land value tax.

At the same time scrap all benefits and give every man, woman and child a "land tax allowance" of, say £10000 per year.

If they don't use their allowance they get a tax rebate.

Thus you can choose to live in a big house in london, get a job, and pay high land tax. Or you could choose to move and live in very low value land in, say, scotland, and get most of your £10k as a tax rebate. no jobs, but you could live off of the rebate.

Note: Actual numbers for example only!

chriserenity

When I worked overseas I found it paid off to find out if the UK had a no double tax treaty with the country you were working in. I think it only applied to income tax though ...

spinks

drpachu wrote: »

Hi
I have just finished speaking to the lady at local council and learnt that I need to pay 50% council tax for not living in the house!
i was told there is 6months exemption only if the house is totally empty ie without any furniture etc and will revert back to 50%
My situation is I am movinng out to rent in a different council area and have put of house on market with some funrinture in for viewing.
Isnt it unfair to ask for council tax which pays for things like school,roads,police,lighting,etc.i am not using theem,I am not paying!
anywhere else this is the case?is it right?

You are lucky you are getting 50% discount and it is just a short term thing until you have sold your property.

My husband is in the HM Armed Forces. We have just been posted to Germany (not by our choice) for 4 years and we are only able to claim 10% discount on the council tax for our property in the UK. We also have to pay CILOCT (Charges In Lieu of Council Tax) in Germany which are as much as the taxes we pay in the UK for a smaller property in the middle of an estate filled with Kurdish immigrants. And we have to pay this 12 months of the year!!!