MPs’ fury as PM’s guru has council tax waived
It is believed between £30,000 and £50,000 could have been owed in council tax.
Instead, charges started to take effect on the two properties from October 4.
Mr Cummings hit the headlines for making a trip from London to County Durham during lockdown after he and his wife suffered coronavirus symptoms.
The Durham MPs fear if Mr Cummings escapes from having the account for the unpaid council tax, alongside facing no action for historic breaches of planning regulations, then it could set a precedent that those in positions of power will face no consequences for their actions - undermining public trust in the decision-making process.
The politicians wrote: “The decision of Mr Cummings to visit Durham during lockdown, and then this subsequent decision by the
Valuation Office to not pursue this backdated council tax, has created a huge amount of anger and frustration in our constituencies and across the country and will simply have the effect of further eroding trust in our laws and regulations.
“Our communities will rightly want to know how the Government ’s senior adviser has again apparently suffered no consequences to breaching rules the rest of us are expected to follow.
“As with Mr Cummings’ decision to visit Durham when we were all instructed by the Government to stay at home, this appears to be a case of one rule for the Government and its staff and another for the rest of us. “W e would therefore be grateful for an explanation as to why this decision w a s reached by the Valuation Office. We would also ask that you review this case and make sure, in the interests of fairness, all steps are taken to ensure this council tax is collected.”
Earlier this week, Durham County Council leader Simon Henig requested chief officers look into all possible options to appeal the national decision and said the VOA decision should be justified in Parliament.
The VOA, which is part of HM Revenue and Customs, previously said: “We treat all council taxpayers equally and in accordance with the law.
“Changes to show multiple selfcontained units would not be backdated.
“If the property has remained in your ownership during the period when any changes are made there would not typically be backdated liabilities.”