To submit the
draft report of the Holiday Homes and Taxes Investigation (attached).
Minutes:
Submitted - the report of the Holiday Homes and Taxes
Investigation.
The Chair set out the context and invited Councillor
Eirwyn Williams, Chair of the Investigation, to formally submit the report to
the committee and to the Cabinet Member for Resources.
Upon submitting the report, Councillor Eirwyn Williams
thanked the members of the investigation and the officers for their work and
also thanked the professional officers outside the Council who had given their
time to speak with the members as part of the investigation.
During the discussion:-
·
It was noted that a
continuous increase had been seen in the number of houses that transferred from
the Council Tax system to the Non-domestic Rate system and that there was a
need to continue pressing for a change in the legislation.
·
It was suggested that the
Cabinet Member should contact other councils to ensure that they also fully
understood the situation.
·
It
was noted that these transfers were a threat to the Council Tax base.
·
It
was asked whether or not it could be argued that Gwynedd was a special case in
light of the high number of houses in multiple occupation within the county and
that this was reflected by the Government in its annual grant settlement.
·
Disappointment was
expressed that members of the scrutiny committee had not been aware at the
meeting before the Council on 3 March that a forewarning of one year needed to
be given before charging a premium on second homes and that the investigation
had expressed that as a reason for not making a decision by that date regarding
issuing a notice for implementing that from the 2017/18 financial year onwards.
·
It was noted the Council
needed to decide by December this year whether or not it would charge a premium
on second homes from 2018/19 onwards and it was suggested that the
investigation should be extended to consider the options (and risks) associated
with that, and also look at other matters such as the possibility of charging a
5% tourist tax in order to fund community-based facilities. It was agreed to
discuss that further at the end of the meeting during the Committee's
Preparatory Meeting.
·
It was noted, although the
vows of the different political parties to reduce the business rates of small
businesses was welcomed, that the owners of self-catering units that had
transferred to the Non-domestic Rates system would benefit from that as well,
and that Assembly Members should be lobbied to see whether or not something
could be done about the situation.
The Cabinet Member thanked the scrutinisers for their
thorough work that had led to a better understanding of the situation and he
noted that he accepted the three recommendations of the investigation in the
fields of taxation, valuation and planning. He added that he believed that the
answer to the problem was to be found within the planning system. He also
suggested that the scrutiny committee should look at the options (and risks)
associated with charging a premium on second homes and submit suggestions to
the Cabinet. It was agreed to discuss that further at the end of the meeting
during the Committee's Preparatory Meeting.
RESOLVED to accept the
report and submit it to the Cabinet Member for Resources.
Supporting documents: