New Council Tax Cut for Families Staying Together

Eric Pickles has announced new government plans to remove an unfair Council Tax surcharge on family annexes and home improvements, to help support extended families. In total, 3 taxes are being cut on home improvements to increase provision of local affordable housing for families both young and old.  Many families benefit from living in properties with self-contained annexes that allow them to house or care for extended family members. The current Council Tax system unfairly penalises those with family annexes through double taxation - householders are billed a second time for the annexes in addition to their payment for their main property. Mr Pickles is proposing a new national discount for all family annexes (not just those for older people), as a quick and easy way to remove this Council Tax surcharge from the system, saving an average £485 a year on a typical £2,427 combined yearly bill. Read more on the Govuk website.