Tuesday - August 25, 2009

TAXED FOR HAVING NO DOUBLE GLAZING? TAXED IF YOU DO!  That’s so more MPs can take longer vacations.

The first part of this will read quite familiar to BMEWS regulars.  However, it’s an excerpted update and a close look at the whole thing will make you appreciate more, what you folks at home in the USA have. Not purr-fect to be sure but nowhere near as fracked up and tax mad as this place.  I find it hard to describe (without four letter words but will try) just how frustrating this place is. 

While the govt. tells the ppl how dire things are financially, they somehow ALWAYS manage to find money to waste in many ways.  Not least of which are the junkets made by pols on, “fact finding tours.” Then there’s the kazillions spent on immigrants both legal and otherwise and the money for the newest racial group to these shores, gypsies/travelers and god only knows what else they spend our money on.

Take a look at this and be thankful Americans.  At least there you have referendums and often can decide on things that have a bearing on you and your family.
You’ll still grumble and bitch about things but even so, you really can often get things done that folks here can’t even imagine.
California’s prop 13 is one example that comes to mind and I know there are others.

When I came here with my wife back in 2004, one of the first things I asked ppl was, how can the Brits afford to live here?
Since 2004, it’s only gotten worse.  And to be very honest, I don’t really think it will get any better under the Tories (Conservatives) when they win power in the next election.  If they win.  The pox dear friends will be upon the taxpayer’s house.  The MPs have theirs all paid for by the people being poxed.

Secret Labour tax on having a patio: Millions of homes assessed for charge which hammers middle classes

By Simon Walters

Shocking new details of a stealth tax of up to £600 for householders with views of any kind, patios, conservatories and even a nearby bus stop are revealed.

Millions of homes have already been secretly assessed by Labour in preparation for council tax hikes expected to target the middle class after the Election.
Homes have been given ‘value significant codes’ which will make virtually every desirable feature taxable.
Although not every home has been assessed, so far nearly 100,000 householders face being penalised simply for having a scenic view from their windows.

Even those who have a mere glimpse of a river, hill or park - or any other pleasing outlook - stand to pay more under a special category for ‘partial scenic views’.

People with garages, conservatories and patios - and even parking spaces - are also in the firing line.
While the list is by no means complete, the figures indicate the chilling detail with which the inspectors are examining Britain’s homes.
The documents also reveal the sheer pettiness of the new rules. Balconies are divided into those up to three square metres, three to five square metres and so on. The ‘Conservatories’ category even covers lean-tos and differentiates between single and double-glazed.

The 115,610 with double-glazed conservatories will be hit harder than the 43,821 with single glazing.

SOURCE

“The 115,610 with double-glazed conservatories will be hit harder than the 43,821 with single glazing.”
Oh yeah?  Well, seems someone has had a change of heart. A bold headline in yesterday’s paper had this to say.

“TAXED FOR HAVING NO DOUBLE GLAZING”

Home owners failing green targets to pay more Council Tax
Home owners who fail to introduce green measures could be forced to pay more Council Tax.

By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent

Under the new proposals, the Government would increase Council Tax and Stamp Duty for millions of homes that are not energy efficient.

It could also mean families are unable to sell their home unless they spend tens of thousands of pounds on getting their properties insulated and double-glazed.

The measures are widely expected to come into force this autumn.

Politicians and housing experts attacked the measures saying it was yet another stealth tax, but this time dressed up as an environmentally-friendly initiative.

Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister, said: “The Government seems intent on giving green taxes a bad name. Rather than penalizing families who happen to live in homes which are harder to insulate they should introduce genuine help for people to reduce the carbon footprint of their property.

“Ministers now seem to believe that any problem can be fixed by simply extracting more tax from hard-pressed families, when what is really required is genuine innovation to green up the nation’s homes.”

Since last October, all homes put on the market for sale or rent have had to have an energy performance certificate, which rate the energy efficiency of a property, giving a rank form A to G.

The energy performance certificates include a report recommending improvements to save money and carbon.

It is understood that Government advisers The Energy Savings Trust wants it to becomes illegal from 2015 to put a home up for sale, which has a rating lower than band E.

An example of a Band F property would be a three-bedroom Victorian terrace property with solid brick walls (no insulation). It would have no double glazing, a standard gas firing boiler with room thermostat, a hot water jacket and energy saving light bulbs.

Measures needed for the property to be pushed up into band D would include installing a condensing boiler, insulating solid walls and double glazing.

A home’s energy ratings is contained in the controversial Home Information Packs, which home sellers must have in place before they begin to market a property. The packs cost £300 on average, but can go up to £500 depending on the provider.

Katie Tucker, of mortgage brokers Mortgageforce, said: “HIPS are an absolute waste of money. It was always known that the packs were of no other use except to help boost government revenues. Now they are using the EPC as a way of boost council tax.”

The Energy Savings Trust said high energy prices means it is more important than ever to have an efficient home. It suggested loft insulation could save a household £155 a year on energy bills, while cavity wall insulation could save around £120 a year.

SOURCE

Let me say a word about insulation inside these very old brick walls in our house.  Built in the days before planet saving came into vogue (1924), the windows are ALL original complete with BADLY rusted frames which we clean and paint every year. Or almost. The council some three years ago offered free between the wall insulation for older houses and so we took up the offer.  A crew came out and putting very small holes in the outside walls, blew in some sort of fiber or maybe it was foam. I don’t recall which.  But they filled in the spaces. They also went up into the attic and blew stuff in there as well.  (Now I think about it, I wonder if that’s when my cough started. ??)
Fast forward .... wasn’t too long before we found the walls inside the house very damn at the bottom and running up from the floor about 10 or 12 inches on the walls.  Not in every room but worse in one or two then say the one I am in now.  What isn’t wet is damp, and it DOES NOT DRY OUT! And there’s nothing we can do that we are aware of. 
So, we’ll be taxed I guess because we have a rather large back garden (yard) on a fairly quiet street 2 miles outside Winchester, in an area that is regarded as a wealthy community. Ppl do pay a premium to come to this village and it isn’t even the top of the list. But its close. And I guess we’ll also be taxed due to single glaze windows.
It isn’t economically feasible to spend THOUSANDS on double glazed new windows for a house that will be sold and torn down in a couple of years.

Stay Tuned

Posted by peiper     on 08/25/2009 at 05:22 AM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Government • Taxes • UK •  
• Comments (5) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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