We must close the second home tax loophole that's pricing people out of their own communities

There are rules regarding qualification for this system, covering length of time the property is available and number of weeks actually let. Do the Inland Revenue actually police these elements? I suspect not. This is not to suggest the whole system does not need overhaul. Drop into any on site caravan sales office , the first question ‘are you a tax payer’, followed by ‘would you like a tax rebate’. Under the same tax system, we are subsiding caravan ownership. .

Someone was arguing with me that any regulations on second homes dominating local communities would detrimentally restrict inward investment .......... so how come many areas dont need second holiday homes to garner inward investment ...... rural Wales is basically reduced to accepting crumbs with many enchained caveats

'Tai haf' (summer homes / 2nd homes) are a meaty issue, and must be bridled, but landlords and tai haf are lone parts, not the same. Cash from land and rent gives each citizen a ladder to climb as both a shield against petty tyranny and a road to freedom on his or her own terms, not the terms, aims nor alms of clubs, groups, parties or creeds.

This matter has been talked about for ages yet no action. Which of the members at Y Cynulliad have a vested interest in this ? Someone is stalling progress and resolution.

Close the loopholes, or don't. I would be interested to check back in 1-3 years time and see what has been actually done about this. I don't regard it as very important. If poor people cannot afford to live in certain areas, then they should live elsewhere. I don't agree with public monies being used to build houses for ne'er do wells. I personally know of an example a young Slovakian lady living in (Hereford) a single mother of two children, the most she has ever "contributed" is to work 16 hour a week, whilst claiming every benefit under the sun. She lives in a brand new 3 bed, 3 story house, housing association short walk from city centre, it's a beautiful house. It's a far nicer house than most people working full time could afford. In the next phase of developments foreign trusts (Russian, offshore etc.) will come in and buy up properties in pretty coastal areas. Nothing can or will be done to prevent. It's just free-market capitalism, which is the foundation of the UK (and Wales). In these small rural locales there aren't proper career opportunities anyway. I tend to think that the poor already get plenty of help. If politicians wanted to help poor British people more, they could close the borders and stop mass immigration, thus more public money to help the indigenous British. The source article is of quite tiny importance, to the overall end goal of Welsh Independence, which certainly is never mentioned enough. The figure mentioned for Gwynedd £1.7 million, it's a paltry amount, it's not a significant amount. (Equiv £32,692 per week)

Having brought this up on a public forum, I would now expect Sian Gwenllian to raise thisissue in the Senedd ASAP. We'll be watching. As for 'Owain Glyndwr's' Slovakian scrounger, that's a completely different problem from the Gwynedd situation where largely Welsh-speaking locals are unable to get a decent home in their own communities because such a large percentage of local homes have been given over to facilitating tourism. Radical measures, beyond playing around with the Local Government Finance Act, such as those propsed by Royston Jones elsewhere on this blog, are required to put a stop to this blatant and destructive example of colonialism. This could be done if the political will was there, but Plaid Cymru have stood by and watched it happen. Owain is right, though, in saying that "there aren't proper career opportunities anyway", and this should be a top Cynulliad priority along with sorting out the housing mess. Relying on tourism to bring wealth to a Welsh community will get you absolutely nowhere. It'll only eat away at that community.

Its got nothing to do with wales this happens evrywhere its just that closet racist welsh nationalists use it as an excuse to Englsih bash....as they always do

This is a shameless and poorly researched piece of scapegoating propaganda. People who own houses that they run as holiday businesses are not "playing the system" to avoid paying council tax. That is a scurrilous and false accusation, intended to foster hatred. They are invited by the Welsh Assembly to apply for small business rate relief and have to prove that it is a proper business, that brings benefit to the community by providing quality tourist accommodation. This is a business like any other, requiring time, investment and attention to detail to make a success. The problem in these communities, as the author says, is the lack of investment in social housing going back decades. A lot of properties in Gwyneth that are holiday cottages were rescued from ruin by their owners. Leaving a house empty must of the time is wrong, but those who run holiday properties are doing their bit for local communities where much of the income is from tourism. The author is blaming them for something that is not their fault. Ms Gwenllian is guilty of a lazy populist arguement which will not benefit local people or help with housing shortages, but will further her own popularity with her fan base's narrow views. The people of Wales are better than this, and deserve better politicians.

There must be some way to differentiate between those offering self-catering as a locally run business, for instance a farmer converting a redundant farm building into holiday accomodation as part of a business diversification scheme, and those who are in effect letting out the property to subsidize their purchase of a holiday home for their own personal use and then claiming small business tax relief to minimize their costs. It should be possible to decide what is a 'business' and what is not. All homeowners should be contributing through council tax in order that local services are properly funded; we can't afford free loaders. As noted elsewhere, this issue is a problem in Cornwall, Devon and the Lake District (Cumbria); however we in Wales have more tools at our disposal should we wish to apply them.. People in Barcelona and Venice are fighting their way through this thicket as well; it is an international problem.