What a surprise. Given the choice of whether or not to double council tax for second home owners from next April, 153 English councils have already reportedly decided that yes, indeed they will. Even officials in that well-known holiday hotspot, Gravesham, have decided to introduce the levy, in spite of there being a mere 21 second homes in the district. Councils seem to be smacking their lips at the prospect. Cornwall council is reckoning on pulling in an extra £24 million, Westmorland and Furness an extra £10 million.
I wouldn’t spend the money quite yet, if I were they. There is always the chance, of course, that they might end up with less revenue. I foresee a spate of marital separations over the coming months as couples begin to work out that what God has joined together, fiscal pressures very much can pull asunder – purely for convenience’s sake.
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