It’s not often a deal breaker but council tax bands do figure in the decision to purchase (or not) a property and they also figure in the decision of where to pitch a sales price, particularly under the last government when the threat of massive rises was always on the cards.
The new government has announced that council tax bands in England are not going to be reviewed until 2015 at the earliest, which means that many households will avoid being hit by additional council tax payments stemming from the increased value of property over the past seventeen years.
The eight council tax bands were based on property values back in 1991, and they were last reviewed in 1993.
The Government has decided that there will be no further review of the council tax banding system until 2015 at the earliest. The Government has said that it would be unnecessary and expensive to carry out a council tax banking review at the moment, adding that because of the property price increases around seven million households could find themselves being pushed into higher tax bands if a revaluation was carried out now.
Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said that the Government had decided that revaluation of the council tax bands at the present time would be very stupid, and that it was wrong to impose higher taxes on already struggling families when it was not necessary.
Any decision about revaluation of the council tax banks will now be put on hold until after the next general election in 2015. Through the lifetime of the parliament this should save the average household around £1600.
An independent review of the council tax system was made in 2007 under the former Labour government, and it was advised that properties should be revalued. However, no changes were made in England at this time. The council tax bands in Wales were revalued back in 2005, as the Welsh Assembly said that they were outdated.
Source: propertydrum.com 05.10.10
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