Scenery Tax

This will go down well with the pensioners:

Having a nice view or living next door to a golf course are going to cost householders more in council tax under Labour plans.

Taxpayers are set to be charged hundreds of pounds extra a year if they are in a conservation area, next to an open space, have a swimming pool or tennis court or enjoy full or partial views of the sea, hills, mountains, lakes or rivers.

Extra charges are also expected to be levied on homes with more bedrooms than average, conservatories, large patios or gardens, roof terraces or balconies. Homes in "gated communities" will also face higher bills

It seems that the government is investing heavily in a computer database to record the value of every house in the land. Attached to each valuation will be a list of "Value Significant Codes". Codes that are likely to push your council tax up include:

• Living in a cul-de-sac
• Living on a quiet road
• Living near to convenient public transport
• Living beside a park
• Having a balcony or roof terrace
• Having a big patio
• Living near "Equestrian Facilities"
  

Apart from the balcony/roof terrace, I tick all of the above boxes. I don't give a shit about horses! Why should I pay extra just because somebody has opened an Equestrian Centre down the road?

Jesus, there are 10 "value significant codes" just to describe the type of view you have! FFS!

Now call me Mr. Cynic, but why the hell does Prescott need to tabulate this amount of detail just to value our houses?

I can't shake the feeling that this is just more New Labour control freakery. Our lords and masters will soon have a big database containing every minute detail of our identity. Couple this with a obsessively detailed profile of your house and the government will have a pretty bloody powerful database on their hands.

Jeez, next thing you know, they will be fitting satellite tracking devices to our cars.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin