Latest news with #Hollinrake
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Holiday let owners face tax ‘triple whammy'
Airbnb owners are set to face a triple whammy of taxes as the Government increasingly treats them as 'walking ATMs,' a senior Tory MP has warned. Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing minister, criticised ministers for hitting short-term let owners with little-known licensing fees when they are already paying double council tax. From April 1, all English councils were given the powers to charge a 100pc council tax premium on second home owners. More than 230 chose to implement the charge – which The Telegraph is campaigning to be cut or abolished. But the new legislation included scope for the Government to introduce a registration scheme to regulate holiday lets and ensure they are recorded with councils. This is expected to involve a licensing charge, which experts estimated would be around £100 per year. Labour has failed to provide a timeframe for when this will be introduced. The result could be that short-term let owners are saddled with paying double council tax bills, plus an annual licensing fee. Mr Hollinrake has argued that the double council tax bill should cover the cost of an owner registering a short-term let. In a written parliamentary question, he asked the Government whether it 'will ensure that homes subject to a second homes council tax premium by local authorities are not charged additional registration fees'. But Chris Bryant, the culture minister, refused to confirm the exemption in his response. He added that the 'scope of the scheme is still being determined'. A loophole in the business rates system means some households could avoid the double tax altogether. Mr Hollinrake told The Telegraph: 'Labour's thirst for tax cannot be quenched, and people may now be hit by a triple whammy of council charges – two lots of council tax, and a licensing fee on top if they ever want to rent it out. 'Such licensing charges are especially pointless, as councils already know the property is being used as a second home by virtue of the council tax surcharge. 'Local taxpayers deserve better than being treated like walking ATMs by this punishing Labour government.' Andy Fenner, head of the Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA), said: 'This appears to be purely a revenue-generating exercise rather than a genuine policy need. Short-term rental tourism provides vital investment and supports thousands of jobs and businesses throughout our communities. Alistair Handyside, of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK, said it was supportive of the scheme but concerned about 'the amount of other interventions such as the council tax premiums, the abolition of the furnished holiday lets tax regime and the new EPC standards, these are closing businesses at a very fast rate'. The second home council tax premium was originally brought in by the Tories. However, Labour has come under criticism for refusing to monitor the impact of the policy on housing, tourism and local economies. Ministers said it was up to individual councils to decide if the double tax is 'effective'. But The Telegraph revealed earlier this month that eight in 10 local authorities who charge the premium failed to carry out impact assessments before introducing it. If a property is let out for 70 nights a year, it qualifies for business rates and is therefore exempt from council tax. Many second home owners will qualify for small business rates relief, which offers up to 100pc relief, if the property is the only one they let. This loophole will cost local authorities £334m this year in missed revenue, a figure which politicians said proved the premium was backfiring. If a property is not let for 70 days, however, it will still be on the hook for all three charges. A government spokesman said: 'A registration scheme will help local authorities across England identify the short-term lets in their area so they can address any community impacts. We will set out more details on how the scheme will work in due course.' AirBnb was also approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Rayner quizzed ahead of changes to stamp duty discounts
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has faced questions about whether she is 'pulling up the housing ladder behind her' ahead of changes to stamp duty discounts. Stamp duty which home buyers pay in England and Northern Ireland was temporarily cut in 2022 for first-time buyers, covering the first £425,000 of house purchase prices. But this 'nil rate' band for first-time buyers will only apply to the first £300,000 of house purchases from April, with other buyers seeing a reduction from £250,000 to £125,000. Conservative shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake told the Commons on Monday: 'Help To Buy helped 350,000 young first-time buyers. The stamp duty discount helped 640,000 first-time buyers get on the housing ladder with discounts of up to £11,000. 'Both now scrapped. 'Is the Secretary of State pulling up the housing ladder behind her?' Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, said: 'It's staggering that the shadow secretary of state said that, after so many people now can't get housing because his of government (which) failed to meet their housing targets. 'We will have a mortgage guarantee scheme. We will build 1.5 million homes so that young people and people can get the houses they deserve.' Mr Hollinrake said in a follow-up question: 'The manifesto promised to preserve the green belt and then grey belt came along which is supposed to be a few garage forecourts. 'Now it turns out that grey belt will mean 640 square miles of green belt are built upon – the size of Surrey. Is this simply another broken promise?' The Deputy Prime Minister said: 'Under the Tories, the number of homes approved on greenfield land increased nearly 10-fold since 2009. 'Labour will be strategic in grey-belt release and we will have a brownfield-first policy.' Ms Rayner also took questions at the despatch box about local elections to some English local authorities – across East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex and Thurrock, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey. Polls due on May 1 in these areas will not take place, according to the Government's plans, with votes intended in future years after a reorganisation of town halls. Mr Hollinrake said: 'On February 5 the Deputy Prime Minister stated that we are postponing elections for one year from May 2025 to May 2026 but the minister on February 17 in a written parliamentary question said new unitary government will be established or go live in 2027 or 2028. 'Can he (local government minister Jim McMahon) confirm that these elections are not being postponed, they are being cancelled and cancelled for up to three years, which means councillors will serve terms of up to seven years, and will he confirm that the Deputy Prime Minister may have unintentionally misled the House and correct the record?' Mr McMahon replied: 'I can start off by confirming absolutely that the Deputy Prime Minister did not mislead the house and the Opposition could do well without trying to muddy the waters, because they know more than anybody what local government reorganisation means. 'Why? Because in the last few years when they were in government, they postponed 17 sets of elections to allow reorganisation to take place.' He added: 'There is nobody going to benefit, whether it's council leaders in Conservative councils who have asked for this, or members of the public, if we confuse the matter more than it needs to be.'
