TEVERSON CALLS FOR END TO SECOND HOME TAX BREAKS

11.38.03pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 31st Mar 2010

Second home owners in Cornwall are benefiting from loopholes which allow them to claim tax breaks, while the viability of local communities is suffering.

Terrye Teverson, the Liberal Democrat PPC for Truro and Falmouth, is urging the government to give local councils more powers to tackle the issue of second home ownership and the impact they are having across Cornwall.

Owners of second homes can avoid paying council tax, by claiming the property is 'available to let' for seventy days a year. This classes them as a small business, and leaves them entitled to small business rate relief. By defining their second home in this way, second homeowners can also get out of paying capital gains tax, by claiming 'rollover relief' when they sell the property.

Mrs Teverson said, "We know how hard many families find it to rent somewhere and it's made harder when they see some homes in their village empty most of the year. "

Mrs Teverson, who is campaigning with Cornwall's five Liberal Democrat MPs, has called on the Government to give councils powers to require planning permission to turn full time homes into second homes, in the areas where it is a significant problem. Liberal Democrats have also successfully campaigned to reverse the Conservative policy of allowing second homeowners to pay half the council tax that full-time residents pay.

"The uncontrolled proliferation of second homes in villages all round Cornwall can mean real problems for local traders, and for village life." Mrs Teverson said.

"With hundreds of homes empty for long periods, it's difficult for local shops and pubs to survive, and villages turn into little more than a collection of houses without a sense of community."

"Having finally got rid of the Conservative Council Tax discount for second home owners, we cannot now put up with people claiming to be businesses just to avoid paying their fair share. Councils should now be given real powers to tackle this issue in areas like Cornwall where second homes are posing a real threat to our way of life."