Cornwall plots second home crackdown and tourist tax

Cornwall and other local authorities are already planning to use new powers that have been in place since April which allow council tax for second homes to be doubled.

This is despite concerns some people do not break the rules, having moved home or moved a tenant and then struggle to sell their properties on the market.

Last year, the Welsh Labor government gave Welsh councils the power to triple council tax bills for second home owners.

Cornish councilors will say that if its powers were aligned with those of Wales, it could raise an extra £78m.

The local authority will also ask for powers to consider and consult on new charges, including a ‘visitor charge’. It said it could raise between £20m and £63m, depending on whether the nightly flat rate was £1 or £3.

Earlier this year, Manchester said its new tourist tax raised £2.8m – based on a charge of £1 per room, per night. The city introduced it in April 2023.

The council also wants to close a tax loophole that allows some second homes to escape existing tax surcharges by registering their homes as businesses.

This means that those who rent out their second homes in England for at least 70 days a year, while continuing to advertise it for 140 days, can avoid council tax and pay business rates instead. As a small business, they can claim 100% relief from any tax owed.

Councilors said around £20m of government funding is being given through tax breaks to short-term holiday lets in Cornwall, such as Airbnb.

It said it would therefore seek new powers to be able to remove applications for rate reduction schemes as it sees fit. Currently, applications for tariff reduction schemes are reviewed by the Government and not at local level.

The Telegraph has contacted Cornwall Council and the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government for comment.