The Welsh Government (WG) have announced that they are considering 'immediate and radical changes using the planning, property and taxation systems' to address concerns about the number of second homes in some local communities in Wales.
We are concerned about potential unintended consequences that the proposed 'immediate and radical changes' may have on our tourism economy, and the direct impact on our businesses already struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic.
These proposed changes from April 2023 include:
- Raising the current threshold for businesses to be included in the non domestic rate (NDR) register from 140 day available to let / 70 days actual let, to 252 days available to let / 182 days actual let (in any 12 month period)
- Change to the discretionary powers available to your Local Authorities to charge a council tax premium of up to 300% of the standard rate (current max. premium is 100% and only 3 LA's in Wales are charging the maximum 100% premium.) Businesses who fall beneath the NDR threshold may be liable to pay these premium rates.
These changes are not being led by Visit Wales, but by other departments within the Welsh Government.
It is important that we accurately represent your views, and are asking our self catering members to complete a short survey which will help us in our dealings with the Welsh Government and Local Authority Officials.
