The TaxPayers’ Alliance has called the doubling of Council Tax on second homes a “naked cash grab.” Let’s be clear: what’s really unfair is the current system that punishes ordinary families while wealthy second homeowners get a tax holiday.
Here’s why this isn’t a cash grab – it’s common sense:
Second Homes Drive Up Local Prices: In areas like Cornwall and North Norfolk, second homes sit empty for most of the year while local families are priced out of the communities they grew up in. This is not sustainable – or fair.
Council Tax is Already Broken: It’s based on 1991 values, which means someone in a small semi in Hartlepool pays more tax as a percentage of property value than someone in a luxury home in Westminster. Wealthy second-home owners benefit from this distortion.
Fair and Built-In: We support a Proportional Property Tax that replaces both Council Tax and Stamp Duty – and yes, it includes a second home surcharge built in at 0.96%. It’s a revenue-neutral reform that redistributes the tax burden more fairly, not one that raises it overall. Until we get there, second home premiums are one of the few levers councils can pull to ease local housing pressures and rebalance the system.
Usage and Impact: The idea that second homeowners “use fewer services” ignores the real issue: second homes reduce housing supply, drive up prices, and erode communities. Their impact goes far beyond bin collection.
The current system protects wealth at the expense of fairness. If the TaxPayers’ Alliance truly cared about ordinary taxpayers, they’d join us in calling for a tax system that reflects reality – not one that gives a free ride to the asset-rich.
It’s time for a property tax that’s modern, proportional, and fair. Second home premiums are a start – but Proportional Property Tax is the long-term solution.
Read more about what the TaxPayers’ Alliance has to say here.