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APRIL 1st IS COUNCIL TAX REVALUATION DAY - UNFAIR COUNCIL TAX BILLS WILL SOAR AS A RESULT
March 28, 2005 12:00 AM
Friday 1st April 2005 is revaluation day. The day the Government will use to set new house values for the Council Tax which will result in many homes in Sutton moving up one or more bands.
Homes were last re-valued in 1991, when the then Conservative Government introduced the Council Tax. Since then house prices in the borough of Sutton have risen between 166% and 190%, some even more.
Revaluation has already taken place in Wales. New bandings were sent out in September 2003 and will be used for bills from 1st April 2005. The government used Wales as a guinea pig for revaluation. But it all went horribly wrong. One in three homes has gone up a band, and only 8% have gone down. In Cardiff, 64% of homes have gone up, with just 2% going down.
Paul Burstow MP has conducted an investigation into house price rises in the town, and discovered that the borough is one of the most likely to be hit. This is because house prices have increased more than the national average.
The revaluation exercise will cost up to £300 million. New council tax bands in England will be based on property prices as of 1st April 2005. Homes will be assessed by the Valuation Office Agency during 2005/06. New bands start from 1 April 2007.
The details of revaluation and the new Council Tax bands will not be known until late this year or early 2006.
Commenting Paul Burstow said:
"It is apt that revaluation day should coincide with April Fools Day. But for many people the result will be a very cruel joke.
"Revaluation is an inevitable part of any property based tax. Council Tax re-banding will hit this area particularly hard because house price rises are well above the national average.
"Council Tax is already unfair, after re-banding it will be even more unfair. Revaluation is like a tax on home improvements. Anyone who has built an extension or had a loft conversion will see their Council Tax bill rise.
"There is an alternative. Instead of re-banding Council Tax I would scrap Council Tax. A local income tax, collected by the Inland Revenue, would be fairer as it is related to people's ability to pay. After taking into account revaluation the vast majority of people in this area would be better off paying local income tax."
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