To submit
the report of the Deputy Leader
(attached).
Minutes:
Councillor Gruffydd Williams withdrew from the
meeting because of an interest.
Councillor Gareth Thomas, despite declaring an
interest in this item at the beginning of the meeting, stated that he would
revoke that interest. Thus, he would not
withdraw from the meeting during the discussion.
Because of the personal interest of the Cabinet
Minister for Finance, Councillor Peredur Jenkins, in this matter, the Deputy
Leader, Councillor Dafydd Meurig, presented the report asking the Council for
formal confirmation for 2019/20, of the previous decisions not to give
discounts to second homes and not to give discounts on empty properties, and to
raise a premium of 50% on such relevant properties.
The following points were raised by individual
members:-
·
In response to an enquiry, it was confirmed that
the intention for 2019/20 was also to allocate all the remaining funds from the
Tax Premium to a specific fund to use for Council priorities, including
providing houses for young people.
·
An enquiry was made as to the amount of additional
funding the 50% premium had generated for the Council. In response, it was noted that the most
recent estimation predicted a sum of approximately £2.7m compared with the £2m
initially anticipated. However, it would not be possible to predict how many
houses would transfer from the council tax arrangement to business rates
between now and the end of March, or the amount of tax burden that would be
back-dated.
·
It
was noted, although the principle of charging a premium was to be applauded,
that the arrangement was lacking, as some owners were transferring their
property to business rates, qualifying for full relief from non-domestic tax,
and were receiving Council services free of charge. It was suggested that no one was policing
this, and a need to review the situation was emphasised. It was also noted that, if everyone paid 100%
rates, the Council would be in a far better financial position.
·
In response to an enquiry about the insufficient
policing work carried out by the District Valuer's Officer, it was explained
that this body, like all other public bodies, was finding it difficult to cope
with its responsibilities because of a lack of resources. It was noted, although attempts had been made
to influence Welsh Government for many years to change arrangements so that it
was no longer possible to change a property into a business without planning
permission, it had fallen on deaf ears.
However, some other councils had become cognisant of the situation and,
by getting more councils to support Gwynedd's standpoint on this, it was hoped
that there would be results before long.
It was added that the Valuer's Officer did not do enough to police
property that transferred to the business rates list. However, the ability to
influence the Valuer's Officer was even less than the ability to influence
Welsh Government as this was part of HMRC, an agent of the Westminster
Government. The Council continued to
draw the Valuer's Officer's attention to houses on the business list that were
not genuinely available to let, and was currently following up on those cases.
·
Concern was expressed that property owners who had
transferred their properties to the business rates list were living in those
houses and were getting refuse collections free of charge. It was emphasised that a clear report was
needed showing whether the plan was costing the Council money, and whether the
Council benefited from it; as the more people transferred, the less money the
Council would receive. The Chief
Executive explained that transfers to business rates would not lead to a
continuous loss of funds, since the Council would receive additional grants if
houses moved to non-domiciliary tax rates, but that the ability to charge a
premium would be lost. He added that the
Rural Forum had asked Gwynedd to report on this matter and it was hoped that
the nine rural authorities on the forum would be supportive of taking this
forward. In response to the comment
about refuse collections, it was confirmed that the Refuse Service treated
houses that had transferred to non-domiciliary tax as businesses in relation to
refuse collection. A member added that
she had also raised concerns about refuse collections and that she had seen
evidence that the Council Tax Service informed the Municipal Service every time
a property transferred.
RESOLVED that the Council makes no changes to the
scheme for 2019/20. That is, for 2019/20:
·
That Gwynedd Council allows NO discount on
class A second homes in accordance with Section 12 of the Local Government
Finance Act 1992.
·
That Gwynedd Council allows NO discount and
RAISES A PREMIUM OF 50% on class B second homes in accordance with Section 12B
of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
·
That Gwynedd Council allows NO discount on
homes that have been empty for 6 months or more and RAISES A PREMIUM OF 50% on
homes that have been empty for 12 months or more in accordance with Section 12A
of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Supporting documents: