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Second homes tax could fund afordable housing Raising the full council tax levy on second homes could fund the provision of affordable housing in the countryside - the most pressing rural problem - and bring the end to rural social exclusion a step closer.
The Country Land and Business Association responded warmly to today's announcement that local councils may be empowered to remove the 50% tax deduction on thousands of second homes but made clear that the additional revenue should be ploughed directly into affordable housing.Oliver Harwood, Head of Rural Economy at the CLA, said: "The extra £200m raised must be spent on building affordable housing for young people in rural areas. The most pressing housing need in the countryside is the lack of affordable housing and the knock on effect of this into the wider rural economy is considerable. "If the Government decide to remove the tax break on second homes, then it is crucial that the obligation in the Rural White Paper is fulfilled and that the Government ensure that the extra revenue is used to tackle this desperate problem. Allowing local councils to use the revenue as they choose may not deliver this. "Despite promising 3,000 more affordable rural homes a year in their rural white paper, the actual number being built has fallen since 1997, from 2,020 to 1,371. People are now less able to live in the communities where they grew up and as a result many rural communities are in decline." |
Contact Christopher Price
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More articles and documents [News Archive] [12 August 2009] GN11-02: Climate Change Levy as it affects rural businesses [Guidance notes] [16 December 2002] CLA58 - Succession planning for farmers and landowners [Advisory handbooks] [9 November 2010] Shared Ownership and Leasehold Enfranchisement and Designation of Protected Areas [Consultation response archive] [5 January 2009] |
Christopher Price is the Director Policy and Advice at the CLA. He has overall responsibility for managing all the CLA's national policy and advisory work. He makes sure that the organisation's policy work is focused on what matters most, and that members' queries are dealt with accurately and efficiently. A planning and environmental lawyer by background, he joined the CLA as public law adviser in 2002. He became Chief Legal Advisor in 2007 and took up his current post a year later. Before coming to the CLA Christopher worked in local government for a number of different authorities.
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