PRESS RELEASE
Ministerial denials
of Gordon Brown’s plans to tax nice
neighbourhoods in counties such as
Cambridgeshire in the forthcoming council tax
revaluation in England were discredited today by
controversial new documents. The Conservatives
have forced the Valuation Office Agency – Gordon
Brown’s council tax inspectors – to publish the
internal handbook they used in the controversial
2005 council tax revaluation in Wales.
The secret manuals,
never before placed in the public domain, reveal
that many homes with features like being near
shops and public transport, with pleasant views
or with “peace and quiet” were penalised with
higher council tax bills. Features such as
“convenience of public transport facilities”,
“peace and quiet”, “shop providing basic
groceries”, “pleasant views” and “good security”
are all most likely to result in higher council
tax bills.
Local MP Malcolm
Moss has labelled such moves as a “Costly and
cynical tax on people of North East
Cambridgeshire’s quality of life”.
Revaluation documents for all homes in the
exercise reveal that home improvements, double
glazing, kitchen units, bathrooms suites,
central heating and enclosed gardens, patios,
and conservatories were recorded by inspectors
to help drive up bills.
In addition it has
now come to light that local residents in the
Welsh pilot were systematically misled in the
revaluation exercise. Householders were told of
inspections and forcible entry of their homes if
they did not fill in intrusive questionnaires
about every aspect of their homes. Letters from
the taxmen promised there would be “no impact”
on council tax bills and the purpose of the
revaluation was “not to increase the overall
yield”. However Labour now admits that tax
revenues soared as a result of the revaluation,
with four times as many homes moving up a band
as down.
Malcolm Moss MP
said:
“It is deeply worrying that householders in
North East Cambridgeshire may have to fill in
intrusive questionnaires about every aspect of
their property, with the veiled threat of a
compulsory inspection of their private home if
they resist. The only reason the tax inspectors
want this information is to tax home
improvements, even though my constituents have
already paid income tax and VAT to pay for doing
up their home.
“Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a
civilised society, with the extra funds raised
from taxing nice neighbourhoods being
‘redistributed’ away to Gordon Brown’s coffers.
This is the hallmark of an oppressive and greedy
government – finding ever more stealthy ways to
tax working families and pensioners, and
trampling over privacy when it suits Labour
Ministers.”
