A NEW round of Council Tax revaluations could unfairly hit hundreds of home-owners in Carlisle – simply because they live in such a nice place!

John Stevenson, the man who could be Carlisle’s next MP, has discovered that the Government is planning to make people pay extra if they live in houses

• Near fields
• With views over hills or rivers.
• Or in quiet roads.

The threatened new regime of Council Tax valuations – intended to fill the black hole in Britain’s ruined public finances – will allow inspectors to record everything from a house’s appearance to the view out of its windows.

And that, says John Stevenson, Carlisle’s Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate, would mean people in Cumbria having to pay extra just because of where they live.

“Carlisle is a great place to live and we’re lucky to be here,” he says. “But it now seems the Government wants to penalise us for living in such a lovely place.

“We have better views, quieter roads and nicer houses than almost anywhere else in the country – but these are the very things the Government is now wanting to charge us extra for.

“Only Labour would think of taxing people for looking out of their own windows or having a nice patio.”

Leaked Government presentations have revealed how the attributes of every home in the country are currently being recorded, logged and digitised and entered into a Government database.

Using complex mathematical techniques, the council tax banding of every home will then be recalculated, pushing up council tax bills for many of them.

Property attributes being recorded include architectural styles, fascias and even sash windows – and “value significant codes” are being attached to homes in quiet roads; with patios, roof terraces or balconies; with sea, lake, river or hill views; near fields or golf courses; and with conservatories or double glazing.

Even though the revaluation is incomplete and internal inspections of people’s homes have not yet started, 100,000 homes are already logged for their scenic views.

Revaluation is expected to lead to soaring council tax bills.

Wales had a similar council tax revaluation in 2005, which saw four times as many homes moving up a council tax band as down. Moving up a tax band would increase the council tax bill for a typical home in Carlisle from £1,530 to £1,870 a year – a rise of £340. The local council would receive less government grant as a result – meaning the tax rise would effectively be pocketed by Whitehall.

– ENDS –