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Council tax second home premium
Comments
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No. But it raises money for the local authority to allow for improving the local schools, roads, parks etc.ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.1 - 
            
Many councils are just filling funding holes from previous bad money management decisions (commercial property adventures spring to mind) but even if they were fixing roads schools and parks that doesn`t provide housing.Tabieth said:
No. But it raises money for the local authority to allow for improving the local schools, roads, parks etc.ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.0 - 
            
Having worked for a local authority, I’m not going to say they are 100% perfect at managing finances. That would be naive and daft. And I’m aware this forum doesn’t allow political talk, so I’m not going to comment on why so many LAs are in dire financial straits right now (or why some dabbled in commercial property adventures).ReadySteadyPop said:
Many councils are just filling funding holes from previous bad money management decisions (commercial property adventures spring to mind) but even if they were fixing roads schools and parks that doesn`t provide housing.Tabieth said:
No. But it raises money for the local authority to allow for improving the local schools, roads, parks etc.ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.But ultimately LAs need money. They need money for statutory services (such as adult social care) and for other services (roads, parks etc.). All of this benefits people living in the area. One of the main ways LAs have of raising money is council tax. If someone can afford to own two (or more) homes, they can afford to pay double council tax which benefits wider society.5 - 
            
No, but it discourages the practise of leaving homes empty!ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.2 - 
            
A loophole might be (in a link I posted earlier) putting second homes in the names of adult children, who will just crash there a few times a month?freesha said:
No, but it discourages the practise of leaving homes empty!ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.0 - 
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It might just mean someone in the family that owns a second home making it their main residence and spending a bit more time there, the council doesn`t have the means (or the legal right?) to track their precise movements, and again this doesn`t provide a home for a local family suffering from the local housing "shortage" (the problem is price of housing, not the availability of housing in my opinion) If there was a genuine housing shortage the government could could pass a law banning second home ownership?freesha said:
No, but it discourages the practise of leaving homes empty!ReadySteadyPop said:
But paying double council tax doesn`t allow someone to live there.freesha said:
That is EXACTLY why you need to pay double. You have it, but not using it. It is going to waste when someone could live there.Binsky_snuff said:Thank you for your comment. It sounds ridiculous to have to pay double council tax when the flat is empty most of the year. But I appreciate you taking the time to answer.0 - 
            
Which is not without potential drawbacks.ReadySteadyPop said:putting second homes in the names of adult children,
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6598791/house-purchase-for-children#latest1 - 
            
If you're going to post a link to a paywalled site, can you at least give a synopsis of what the article is saying and not just the link.ReadySteadyPop said:
(yes, i know there are workarounds)2 
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