Scott Bingham The Politics Show South West

Not possible to compute 'second home' properties

A South West MP claims Cornwall's affordable housing crisis is being made worse because second home owners are exploiting a new legal loophole to avoid paying council tax.

Truro Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor says an increasing number of second home owners are choosing to register their properties as small businesses.

He says by filling in a Government form they can convert to paying business rates and claim rate relief of up to 50% - instead of registering for council tax and receiving only a 10% discount.

"People are saving four, five, six, seven hundred pounds a year, so it is no surprise it is happening," said Mr Taylor.

"As a result it is also virtually impossible to tell exactly how many second homes there are in Cornwall because you cannot tell which are genuine businesses and which are holiday homes."

Mr Taylor said at least one local council had seen a rise in the number of domestic properties being registered as small businesses - along with a drop in the number of second homes being registered for council tax.

Malcolm Brown, Senior Research and Information Officer at Cornwall County Council said there was anecdotal evidence that people were exploiting the loophole, but there is a bigger underlying problem.

"The figures the Government produces don't make sense.

"They show that there has been a fall in the number of second homes up to 2001, when it's obvious to anyone here that the number has gone up," he said.

A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said in a statement: "We do not believe that many second home owners are paying business rates when they should be paying council tax.

"In the light of the concerns raised however, we are looking into this issue further."

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