Holiday home owners hit by change to tax laws

-
The closing of a tax loophole is hurting the Welsh tourist industry and the people who own holiday homes.

Previously it was possible to list a second home as a business to avoid paying council tax, just paying the much lower business rates for the property. This was even the case for people who didn’t run the home as a business at all, who just pretended they did, to save money.


But now some genuine business owners are beung by the changes, according to the BBC.

New rules mean that in order to be classed as a business location, your holiday home must be rented for at least 70 days during a financial year. But due to the current economic conditions and the terrible weather we’ve experienced of late, some genuine businesses are losing out because they’ve not had enough rentals.

The difference between business and council tax can be up to £2,000 a year per property. People who own more than one property will be penalized for each home they own which doesn’t achieve 70 days of rentals.

Many holiday rental businesses are expected to go under as the new rules continue to punish those hit by the external economic conditions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Never a Better Time to Buy Abroad

-
Image
Buying properties abroad can be nerve-wracking, especially in today’s economic climate. The fact that you will be dealing with a wholly different market from the UK, and you have little interaction or immersion with different areas, can make selecting and committing money to a property incredibly daunting. Now is the best time to start considering making an investment in holiday property though. The Great British Pound is slowly growing in strength against the Euro, in fact buyers can expect to buy 25% more Euros per pound than they could three years ago, when the exchange rate was almost equal. It means that you get a lot more for your money. This is coupled with a housing crash in many European countries. Spain in particular is a hotspot for those looking to purchase a holiday home. Due to the severe economic downturn in the country, house prices have plummeted, with some Spanish banks offering some properties discounted up to 70% against their 2008 price. Head of Savills ...
Read more

Got a Holiday Flat or House in London or Weymouth?

-
Image
If you have a Holiday flat or house in London, this could be the right moment to make some extra cash. With the Olympic Games starting the 27 th July and ending the 12 th august 2012, many visitors are looking for a place to stay. Especially if you are close to the Olympic Games complex (Stratford), this could be quite profitable. The overall market prices in London have already risen by 16% from 2011 to 2012 according to some Real Estate Agencies . House prices have risen by 1.4% since 2010  in almost all areas of England.
Read more