Close the loophole that allows second home owners to evade council tax and rates

• Petition
• Statistics

Petition Action

Close the loophole that allows second home owners to evade council tax and rates

Petition Details

In England, second home owners can avoid council tax by claiming to be a business if they say they are available for letting for 140 days a year - they do not have to actually let at all.
As their rateable value is below £12k, they also qualify for 100% small business rate relief - so pay nothing.

Additional Information

In Southwold, on the Suffolk coast, where most houses are second homes, this loophole costs the local council about half a million pounds every year in lost revenue because 257 of these homes claim to be a business and pay nothing.
It is grossly unfair that people with two homes should be subsidized by people with no, or only one, home.
Most genuine businesses do not now qualify for small business rate relief because the latest revaluation has put them above the ceiling.

---

You can't sign this petition because it is now closed. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!

Have your say on this petition!

comments powered by Disqus