Labour’s eyes in sky to tax big gardens
THE Welsh Government is using satellites to spy on homeowners with big gardens, as it seeks to overhaul council tax, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Families who live in areas with good schools or lower crime rates are among those who will be hit with higher council tax bills, under plans being drawn up by the Senedd.
The Labour-run Welsh Government says it will introduce higher council tax bands and higher tax band rates to address “property wealth” and “rebalance” the current system.
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that a Labour government will not raise taxes. But he has also said that the Welsh Government is a “blueprint” for “what Labour can do across the UK”.
A wider UK council tax revaluation, which has previously been advocated by Jim McMahon, now Sir Keir’s shadow local government minister, would be likely to result in tax increases for millions of households.
Asked if the party would revaluate council tax, a Labour spokesman said that it has “no plans” to do so, but declined to categorically rule out such a move.
So far, the Welsh Government has not publicised how it plans to reform the system. It has commissioned the
Valuation Office, an agency of HMRC, to use the “latest technology” to value homes in Wales.
The Telegraph can now reveal the data that are being gathered by the Valuation Office, where officials are building an “automated valuation model” to prepare up-to-date values for all of the 1.5 million homes in Wales. As part of this model, they are using “aerial and street view photography” in order to verify the size of houses and gardens.
They are also looking at Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), meaning the more energy efficient homes - for example, those with double glazing could potentially be charged higher taxes. They are examining local authority planning websites, meaning homeowners with extensions or outhouses could also be charged higher council tax.
Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, said: “Sir Keir Starmer is using his ‘blueprint’ Labour government in Wales to road test his plans to hike up council taxes on people’s homes. Straight from the same old Labour playbook, these Big Brother tactics will punish families with higher bills simply for having good schools or lower crime.”
He added that while the Conservatives will keep council tax down, a Labour government will “take us back to square one with higher borrowing and higher taxes”.
In addition to information from the Land Registry, which records the prices that houses are bought and sold for, the valuation model will include “plot size”. using data from the Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database.
The information about how the Welsh Government will carry out its revaluation of council tax emerged in answers to parliamentary questions, tabled by Paul Howell, the Tory MP.
The Valuation Office Agency denied “Big Brother” tactics are being employed. A spokesman said: “We are accessing freely available information so that any new valuations are based on the most up to date information.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are listening to communities while considering options for reform of council tax in Wales.”