Are you still thinking about voting labour in the next general elections???

Shocking new details of a stealth tax of up to £600 for householders with views of any kind, patios, conservatories and even a nearby bus stop are revealed for the first time today.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show millions of homes have already been secretly assessed by Labour in preparation for council tax hikes expected to target the middle class after the Election. Homes have been given ‘value significant codes’ which will make virtually every desirable feature taxable.

Although not every home has been assessed, so far nearly 100,000 householders face being penalised simply for having a scenic view from their windows. Even those who have a mere glimpse of a river, hill or park - or any other pleasing outlook - stand to pay more under a special category for ‘partial scenic views’. Worst hit among the 11 types of view are likely to be the 26,346 assessed so far as enjoying a full sea view and the 21,709 who overlook a golf course or farmland. People with garages, conservatories and patios - and even parking spaces - are also in the firing line.

While the list is by no means complete, the figures indicate the chilling detail with which the inspectors are examining Britain’s homes. The documents also reveal the sheer pettiness of the new rules. Balconies are divided into those up to three square metres, three to five square metres and so on. The ‘Conservatories’ category even covers lean-tos and differentiates between single and double-glazed.

The Valuation Office Agency, which is compiling the massive database of every home in England, has divided the three-quarters of a million people with conservatories into four groups. The 115,610 with double-glazed conservatories will be hit harder than the 43,821 with single glazing.

People with patios could be in for a shock. A total of 4,932 homes have been registered as having ‘value significant’ patios - Whitehall jargon for big ones, perhaps with built-in barbecues. There are likely to be tens of thousands more.

Others who enjoy living in a peaceful area will soon have to pay for the privilege. A total of 38,081 homes have so far been given the coding of TQ, which tells council tax chiefs that they live in a quiet street or cul-de-sac.

The UP code for those with good access to public transport, such as those living near a bus stop, may find their council tax goes in the same direction - up. Some of the details released by the VOA resemble a manual for taxing rich householders till the pips squeak.

About 13,000 homes with pools are listed, with separate categories for indoor and outdoor; as are 1,731 equestrian paddocks; 4,933 stables; 2,863 tennis courts; and 2,268 penthouses.

The system gives all 23million homes in England one of about 100 ‘dwelling-house codes’ for each type, from modest council flats up to mansions. It takes account of architectural styles: brick, thatch or stone fascias, sash windows, age periods and size. If and when the revaluation takes place, tax will be calculated through a vast and complex formula which uses these codings.

Householders with one or a number of the features could see their council tax band move up by one or possibly two levels. Moving up from Band D to Band E could mean a rise of around £300. Moving up to Band F could result in a £600 increase.

Other categories - such as having a cesspit, no street lighting or living near a radio mast or pylon - could lead to reduced bills.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman said: ‘Gordon Brown’s council tax inspectors have been caught red-handed preparing the way for massive tax rises on middle England after the Election, to fill the black hole in Britain’s ruined public finances. There is now cast-iron proof of a council tax revaluation by stealth. ‘Only Labour would think of taxing people for looking out of their own windows. Conservatives will scrap these tax-raising plans and abolish tax inspectors’ rights of entry into your home.’

The Government has spent a staggering £13million on the VOA’s scheme to build the new database. Ministers have secretly renewed a multi-million-pound deal between the VOA and leading property website Rightmove to access sale prices and floorplans for tens of thousands of homes. The Treasury refused to say how much information the VOA received from Rightmove, whose website has a databank comprising 400million pages of information.

In addition, the Government has spent £3.7million on a US computer system that can pinpoint households on a map and list information gleaned from house-to-house inspections.

Read more: Secret Labour tax on having a patio… Millions of homes already assessed for council charge which hammers middle classes | Mail Online

I’m voting for Greenpeace :smiley:

they would have you give up both your car and bike for a pushbike and trainers…

Good point but what are the other choices, I have to give them up anyway cos I can’t afford to keep filling them up with petrol due to all the taxes I have to pay!!

Thanks Chief Inspector Jacques, I have just sent this to my folks. They live in quite a large house, beside the sea, with a decent sized garden. I’m thinking they would have been stung pretty hard by this tax

It’s just the usual Daily Mail ranting shite.I’m surprised they didn’t blame illegal immigrants / single mothers instead.
The reality is that any government would have done the same - the council tax bandings haven’t been changed / revalued since the advent of the tax after the poll tax fiasco
Of course a conservatory or large patio or a nice view is going to impact on it - anything that adds to a house’s value will
Remember, it wasn’t labour who introduced the Poll tax and then subsequently the council tax.

No…but they’ve done enough to screw everything up!! :smiley:

Conservatories cause cancer anyway … that’s what I read.

Granted - Labour are shite - but what are the alternatives - the Tory party? Don’t make me laugh! :laugh: - a bunch of top public schoolboys who have had an easy ride in life because of cut glass contacts* and who only really want to further the interests of the rich and priviliged (regardless of what they will say to get elected) and who have zero idea of the kinds of lives ordinary folk lead and the challenges they face.*Cameron, (who is an an aristocrat) in his twenties, got his first job in TV at Carlton (paying 90 grand a year) because a family friend - Lady Astor - was chummy with the Carlton boss Michael Green.

What message does that give to the rest of us who have zero contacts or advantages and have had to work bloody hard and sacrifice to get to where we are (which is still not that much compared to Cameron’s lot)?

The Tories go on about hard work and personal merit - but based on the example of their leader that is bullsh1t - they are all about protecting class privilege and advantage and the British people shouldn’t fall for it like they did last time.

You would really give the country over to these self-serving bastards because your f8cking conservatory might get taxed?! :w00t:

p.s. I hope the leg is getting better - have they put a rod in it?

Great post NinjaJunkie!

Thanks DucatiPete! :smiley:

I was going to try and make a post describing my thoughts, but Gurninman did it for me already :smiley:

will we get a reduction for having to look out over a council estate? :smiley:

Interesting article- if it’s true. Council Tax is intrinsically unfair. Funding for your local amenities should be paid for through a fair income tax system IMHO… but I guess this will never happen.

Remember the expenses fiasco ? - they were all trousering as much of our money as they could, regardless of which party they belonged to. They’re all the same, as will be the outcome whoever you vote for.

Where’s Guy Fawkes now we need him ? :smiley:

Fear is what they want. People are easy to control when they are scared.

Johnny