The Tories are waging war on hard workers

sir – The doubling of rates on second homes (Letters, April 9) is just another middle-england tax. I followed the Conservative mantra to work hard to get ahead, save money and help the economy through taxation. I was able to buy a second home to holiday in, and to rent out to support my pension, in the village where I spent so many happy summers growing up.

With no discussion, the council will double the rates. I will not get better service. If I sell, someone with more money will buy the house, not a local first-time buyer. The real issue is the lack of opportunity for young people to stay and work in coastal regions, and the lack of planned affordable housing.

In addition, some 50 holiday chalets have been erected next door, which don’t fall into the same bracket of second homes and are thus exempt from the tax. They are second homes in all but name.

David Coverdale

Leeds, West Yorkshire sir – Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, has tried to justify legislation allowing local authorities to charge a council-tax premium on second homes by suggesting that the aim is to persuade owners to sell up and thereby make more homes available for local people. In fact, this policy will no more achieve its stated aim than any other policy designed to tax perceived advantage.

Politicians of all stripes have failed to maintain a grip on public expenditure and, rather than deal with this, now spend their time seeking out new sources of revenue, particularly from those who work hard and make apparently selfish choices about how to spend their own money. Politicians then seem surprised when people decide to stop working hard, or at all, because much of any additional earnings is taxed either directly or via the above misguided policy.

Ian Mackenzie

Preston, Lancashire