In message
,
jgharston writes
John Williamson wrote:
Tony Bryer wrote:
It seems lost on the average Mail reader that *on average*
a revaluation will not affect anyone's council tax, subject
to the revaluation not being used as an excuse to increase
spending.

Ah, but it *will* be used as that excuse. That's what Daily Mail
readers realise that some others don't want to admit.

Even though it's councils that set the tax take, not the Valuation
Office who do the valuations. If you have 60% of properties in
Band A before the revaluation, you'll have 60% of properties in
Band A afterwards. It's up to the council to decide that Band A
should pay £900 instead of £800.

But in the last revaluation under the old rates system it is exactly
what happened, as it did in Wales
Plus the insanity that the bands are the same across the whole
country! 60% of Sheffield is in Band A. 95% of Westminster is
in Band H. Banding should be on a council-wide basis, as the
tax is raised on a council-wide basis.


(Actually, if you're going to have a property tax, it should
be a raw percentage of the value, none of these bands nonsense.)

Valuing a property is not an exact science - in fact there is very
little science in it at all.
The revaluations should have been no more than five years apart.

I was about to be offered a job in the Valuation Office for the
2005 revaluation, but it was cancelled at the last minute when
Gordon Brown got cold feet.

Thank goodness for that.
JGH

--
hugh