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Professor John Robertson OBA
The Telegraph yesterday had:
Scotland plots uncapped council tax rises for second home owners – Green Party’s ‘pile on the costs’ proposal will be ‘gold standard’ for tackling homelessness. Councils in Scotland are poised to be granted powers to penalise second home owners with uncapped council tax premiums.
On the Second Homes Tax, I know, based on the evidence that matters, access to a decent home for local people on moderate incomes, it is a good thing and the more it has effect the better it will be.
From Minister for Housing correspondence and empty homes statistics: FOI release published on 16th January, we can see that in 2024, there were 65 144 empty second homes, down 7 % from 70 278 in 2023 and 43 538 properties empty for 6 months, down 7% from 46 217 in 2023.
This change is largely due to:
Powers enabling Councils in Scotland to apply either, a 50% Council Tax discount, the standard rate, or an up to 100% council tax premium (double the rate) on second homes came into force in April 2024. 30 local authorities have introduced the premium in some form as of September 2024.
Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400438694/
More, I say.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I love the wording… “Plots” as though Scotland deciding its own tax schemes to fit its own needs is some nefarious scheme. How very dare Scotland not act primarily for the good of the English!
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Yes, MORE!
The Torygraph is up in arms because a disproportionate number of homes – and mainly, the better quality housing, and housing in rural areas – are owned by people resident in England.
In addition because of the wilfully regressive nature of the Council Tax these homes (everywhere in the UK) pay disproportionately less tax than those of us in the lower council tax bands.
Some years ago the Scottish Government added two more bands of higher rate and hypothecated the revenue to education. Before replacing Council Tax with a more equitable system the number of Council Tax bands in the interim should be extended to as many as are needed.
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Need to take into consideration homes that are empty due to legal reasons. I went through this recently where a distant relative died intestate. It took nearly three years for the nearest relative to get the keys. HMRC and others didn’t release the home until they got their money. AND the local council invoiced 3×100% council tax to the new owner on accepting the keys, subsequently reduced on appeal.
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Yep, always have a will drawn up and easy to locate!
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I do not doubt your integrity in this account, but, it is the kind of thing that the media misuse in their reporting on issues such as taxation on second homes. They generalise from particulars like this to convey the impression that ALL are like this.
Another trope they use is the ‘elderly widow living alone in a large family home’. When calls are made to increase the council tax banding on larger homes, to reflect the market values of the property, we get the ‘elderly widow’ trope, who might have to sell the home to pay the Council Tax. Again, the intention is to convey the false impression that this is the case with all larger homes.
The King pays less Council Tax on Buckingham Palace than some people in places like Doncaster who bought their Council houses.
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I follow Orkney News at wordpress and via their newsletter, they published stats re empty homes in Scotland and where most prevalent, just a few days ago. The number of empty homes is shocking, and more than the number of homeless across Scotland.
I’ve noticed even private rented properties in our area after being let, are left mostly unoccupied. Why? I guess those using the property a couple of times per year, don’t have to pay higher council tax?
Be interesting to know which local authorities impose higher CTax on second and third homes and which do not.
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Edinburgh needs a tourist tax, it would help reduce homelessness, if the English Tory/Labour council had the will of course…and therein lies the problem.
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agreed.
somebody’s making good money out of all year round tourism in Edinburgh but residents pay the tax bill to clean up. Young people face a huge disadvantage when it comes to buying a home. John Lawson
plus I now refuse to stand aside while people take ages to get an instagrammable photo of their partner’s trout pout.
John Lawson
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Charge them a fiver to move aside! Part of a new tourist photo tax, don’t you know…
John H
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