Second homes tax worth £12.5m to council

A council tax premium paid by second home owners is estimated to have been worth £12.5m to Pembrokeshire council over the past year, councillors have been told.

The figure was revealed at a council meeting in response to a query raised by a member of the public after the authority agreed to reduce its council tax premium on second homes from 200% to 150% last October.

They also asked whether "there any safeguards in place to protect against the danger that tax premiums are set solely for the purpose of raising the tax base", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In response, the committee was told the premium was not set for raising the tax base, but was "simply a consequence".

Last October, Pembrokeshire councillors agreed to reduce the extra council tax charge on second homes to 150% - just six months after a 200% rate was introduced - equating to an estimated £2.6m loss in income.