Editor

I fully support Jean Miles in her condemnation of the council tax premium on second properties (‘No justification for tax hike’, Letters, 13 January).

She is correct in stating that attacks on second-property owners will lead to resentment and unrest. It already has. Many self catering and holiday-home owners,following comment from HMRC, have moved to business rates and now pay zero council tax.

Second-home owners - many of whom are Welsh expatriates - are considering selling up or renting out their properties as businesses. The result will be an even lower council tax take and a stagnant property market.

This unjustified tax hike is in total contrast to property ownership in England. Residents of Wales who purchase second properties in England are not subject to any premium on their council tax. In fact councils can give a discount of up to 50 per cent!

Second-home owners are not pushing up the price of property in North Wales. They are paying the market value.

The Welsh Government’s definition of affordable housing is: “A household is considered likely to be able to afford to buy a home that costs 3.5 times the gross household income for a single earner household, or 2.9 times the household income for dual income households”.

The problem facing first-time buyers in Gwynedd is not the availability of “affordable housing” as defined by the Government, but their inability to obtain a mortgage. Lenders’ now require a minimum 10 per cent deposit and a guaranteed regular salary.

It is these two issues - deposit loans and higher paid jobs - that government and councils must address rather than claiming the solution lies in destroying the second-property sector.

I suggest councillors meet with the various groups that make up the second-property sector who will be happy to explain the major benefits they bring to the economic well-being of the county and suggest alternatives to council tax premiums.

John Rees Moss Bala

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