Student lets cost York £3m in council tax (From York Press)
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Student lets cost York £3m in council tax
8:53am Saturday 4th February 2012 in News
NEW figures show the number of student lets in York has risen again over the past year – and they are costing the city more than £3 million in council tax.
The statistics, obtained by Independent Osbaldwick councillor Mark Warters, reveal there are 2,905 student properties in the current financial year, up by 112 from 2,793 in 2010/11. The properties are exempt from paying £3,057,000 in council tax, slightly lower than the £3,306,000 exempted in 2010/11.
Coun Warters claimed while most residents are facing a council tax rise, the Government should ensure either council tax or business rates were payable on student lets. He claimed the council was not directly compensated for lost council tax revenue through Government grant, as an officer had informed him the grant formula took into account more than just exempt student properties, so this element could not be individually identified.
Coun Julie Gunnell, cabinet member for corporate services, said the Government determined exemptions and what type of business was liable for paying business rates, not the council.
She said the formula grant was a complex calculation, which took exemptions into account but the two universities and their students generated over £400 million for the local economy and employed more than 4,000 people directly.
Comments(26)
mickrick
says...
9:22am Sat 4 Feb 12
Cnl Gunnell has put forward the reasoning for the situation so get on with it.
Councilor warters does no favours to himself in his ongoing campaign against students. Its hard to tell what his reasoning is other than self publicising.
I would prefer a group of inteligent uni students any day to Bare knuckle Yoiks littering these pages.
rothko
says...
9:54am Sat 4 Feb 12
roskoboskovic
says...
9:55am Sat 4 Feb 12
ISeeEverything
says...
10:02am Sat 4 Feb 12
mickrick
says...
10:16am Sat 4 Feb 12
roskoboskovic wrote:One good reason is the government make the rules not the council.
the self imposed voice of reason mickrick spouts his usual tripe.why should the students or the landlords not pay council tax.just give me one good reason why the should be exempt and i may listen but when the council decide to increase our council tax by nearly 3 per cent i will take some convincing.
If charges were made it would simply put rents up to the same amount.
That would reduce the student population already reeling from tuition fees.
The local economy would suffer. Shops and takeaways would close business rates would be lost and to make up the shortfall the council would raise council tax to all and sundry including you.
My preference for tripe is quite normal. I prefer honeycomb as opposed to thick seam but that depends on how its cooked. Steamed in milk is nice but traditionally just with vinager from a newspaper wrapping. Hope that helps.
nearlyman
says...
10:31am Sat 4 Feb 12
At £9000 in tuition fees.........around £5000 a year already in accomodation fees...........educa
tion is well and truly the preserve of the wealthy...... 'Oh, but you dont pay anything until you are earning a substantial salary', I hear bleated out......this is the root of the problem as there simply are not enough high paid jobs about to stand a chance of the money being re paid. In short the system is unsustainable and panders to the education obsessives and those raking it in on the back of the new education cash cow.
It is high time people realised that university education is not needed for everyone, cut the numbers in half, fully fund those who demonstrate their aptitude by achieving genuinely decent grades. These students are the future high flyers of the country, not those just going for the uni experience on a worthless degree course which perversely they are allowed to do. Get real!
Torycouncil2015
says...
10:32am Sat 4 Feb 12
nearlyman
says...
10:41am Sat 4 Feb 12
Buzz Light-year
says...
12:05pm Sat 4 Feb 12
Did you know single people get a rebate on council tax? What's the shortfall due to that? All those people living on their own just so they can pay less tax than everyone else, they should be forced into sham marriages so they pay their way.
Honestly the way some councillors and especially The Press whip up the frenzy it's like some facile TV show on channel 5.
I even agree with mickrick on this for once.
mickrick
says...
1:55pm Sat 4 Feb 12
Most encouraging.
only human
says...
1:55pm Sat 4 Feb 12
Lets face it with the mass of employers across the board now jumping on the minimum wage rate bad wagon even in households with 2 people working full time the will be lucky to bring home 21k and still have to pay out just as much as either students or joe average.
The whole thing is a joke.
Many peoples incomes are now so poor even with 2 adults working full time they need govt.assistance in the form of working tax credits and the likes.Why not just remove them from the deductions system below an agreed livable income.]
Its the excessive profits that big comapnies make which would be best served by incresing staff wages to the living wage standard rather than having the govt.and taxpayer pick up the tab whilst they boast(mr ASDA)about how they plan to create yet even more low paid jobs.....and the circle goes around and around...
minimum wages should have some regulation around them.
Will be interesting to see the salaries advertised for new graduates,i bet they will pitch just under 21k..and so this defeats the whole point of further education.
I wouldnt like to be a student in the next few years,with up to 40k in debt.Any earnings over 21k being,taxed and Nat Ins deducted plus student loans deducted.No chance of chipping into a pension and little chance of affording a mortgage.
Without doing the maths on 40k worth of debt i imagine it will be a millstone around the neck for a fair few years.
So then 40 years down the road all these people on minimum wages who cant afford to pay into a pension and rely on govt.top ups just to pay their council tax and the like will be retiring with no pensions other than what the state credits their NAT INS contributions with or each year they have had to fall back on tax credits.
Its a circle of the welfare state we have become.
Stevie D
says...
2:29pm Sat 4 Feb 12
only human wrote:
If 21k is deemed a salary sufficient enough to compel students wages to be docked to repay their student loans then why has the govt.just set the max income for a family on benefits at 26k
Most recent graduates will not be supporting families, so can live quite happily on a lower income. The maximum of £26k will only be paid to people with several children, so fairly obviously they need more money to look after 6 people than a graduate does to look after one.
Justinheaven
says...
4:33pm Sat 4 Feb 12
I would hate to see what Yorks economy would be like without students and the University
mickrick
says...
4:48pm Sat 4 Feb 12
Justinheaven wrote:What does that man have against students ?
Councillor Mark Warters is very anti student , and stereotypes all students as the same .
I would hate to see what Yorks economy would be like without students and the University
I agree with Justin, Yorks economy would fold without them.
york_chap
says...
6:57pm Sat 4 Feb 12
People in my area are concerned about dog fouling, I could send off for info about how many poop scoop bins there are in the vicinity and air my annoyance in the newspapers.
mickrick
says...
9:35pm Sat 4 Feb 12
piaggio
says...
10:28pm Sat 4 Feb 12
erm it has ! railway works/terrys/rowntre
e mack/vickers,
and as for students,bunch o iddleclass t*****S ,who can.t won,t get a job.cos there isn,t any.and landlords?? make em pay ,big time ,bunch o chancers,tax em to the hilt.rant over ,
Prob
says...
11:25pm Sat 4 Feb 12
piaggio wrote:Perhaps you could use a bit of education?
Yorks economy would fold without them.??
erm it has ! railway works/terrys/rowntre
e mack/vickers,
and as for students,bunch o iddleclass t*****S ,who can.t won,t get a job.cos there isn,t any.and landlords?? make em pay ,big time ,bunch o chancers,tax em to the hilt.rant over ,
Omega Point
says...
12:04am Sun 5 Feb 12
James Street Bare Knuckle Gypsy Fighter wrote:Usual ignorant rant from a usual source who on every subject betrays - yes you have got it - ignorance
Why should students get away with not paying council tax? Its a disgrace. Many people at college/uni are only there to toss it off anyway. Students are financially better off than a working person on minimum wages. Go round town midweek and the pubs are full of students blowing money in pubs. I'd charge them double never mind discount
James do take the effort darling to get some facts.
studentmum
says...
8:08am Sun 5 Feb 12
what about single people who get discount on council tax.
or the layabouts that wont work and we pay for them to sit on the back sides smoking and watching cable tv.. they dont pay council tax.
Coun Waters is a bitter old man who has become so racist to students, and its about time he left them alone, they have done no damage to him exept rent a few houses in his ward... maybe they should all be turned into old age people homes, then he can be happy!!!! do people on the state pension pay council tax??? i really dont know?
studentmum
says...
8:08am Sun 5 Feb 12
what about single people who get discount on council tax.
or the layabouts that wont work and we pay for them to sit on the back sides smoking and watching cable tv.. they dont pay council tax.
Coun Waters is a bitter old man who has become so racist to students, and its about time he left them alone, they have done no damage to him exept rent a few houses in his ward... maybe they should all be turned into old age people homes, then he can be happy!!!! do people on the state pension pay council tax??? i really dont know?
mickrick
says...
10:49am Sun 5 Feb 12
roskoboskovic wrote:Voice of reason and reference to Offal in the same sentence?
the self imposed voice of reason mickrick spouts his usual tripe.why should the students or the landlords not pay council tax.just give me one good reason why the should be exempt and i may listen but when the council decide to increase our council tax by nearly 3 per cent i will take some convincing.
I quite like that .
the butler
says...
7:12pm Sun 5 Feb 12
the butler
says...
7:20pm Sun 5 Feb 12
mickrick
says...
11:12pm Sun 5 Feb 12
the butler wrote:You do indeed err income from rents are taxed as unearned income and is taxed higher accordingly.
Further, My remarks are not aimed at the students, It is the system that prevails, for those house owners to get a tax free income; Please correct me if I err on this point...
Landlords are pretty well hammered for tax.
Another tax will simply put up rents right across the board not just on student houses but on all people who have to rent.
The system is best left alone or give landlords tax breaks. That should theoreticly bring rents down, perhaps maybe.???
However this is nothing to do with councillor Waters having a down on Students. The man has developed a track record on that theme...Why ??
James Street Bare Knuckle Gypsy Fighter says...
9:00am Sat 4 Feb 12