Following Pembrokeshire County Council's decision to impose an additional tax of 50% on empty houses and second homes, set up a working group to review the impact of the decision and allocate the extra money to funding affordable housing and local services, Tamsin Davies Chair of Cymdeithas' Sustainable Communities group said:
“A campaign by Cymdeithas yr Iaith was one of the influences that lead to the Government allowing local authorities to impose a tax of 100% on second homes in the first place. Naturally we want to see the tax on second homes increase by 100%, and the money should be earmarked for affordable housing. Many local authorities are discussing raising the tax at the moment and we welcome this. It's a good thing that Pembrokeshire County Council discussed a proposal to impose a tax of 100% even though it was not accepted.
“It is promising that the council is going to review the impact of the decision to raise an additional 50% tax. In a consultation, 73% of county residents supported an increase to tax on second homes and empty properties, so it is important to review the decision, and to increase the tax over time.
“Pembrokeshire is among the counties with the highest number of second homes and the high price of housing is one of the factors causing young people to leave the area, so a tax on second homes and empty properties could lead to positive change.”