Scots could pay 'extension tax' on homes as local councils face budget blackhole

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Scottish Government-led group is considering plans for an “extension tax” to boost town hall coffers.Council tax discounts are also under the microscope as SNP ministers try to think of ways to raise new funds.Labour MSP Mark Griffin said: “Councils have been left scrambling to fill the budget blackhole that the SNP created and tweak an outdated Council tax system that the SNP promised to scrap.“As if the looming threat of painful council tax hikes wasn’t enough, now Scots might have an extension tax to worry about.“We are in the worst cost of living crisis in decades and Scots cannot afford to keep paying the price for the SNP’s economic failure.”A joint working group (JWG) co-chaired by Scottish Ministers and umbrella group COSLA is considering short-term changes to council tax to address a budget crisis.A leaked COSLA paper downplayed the prospect of a full revaluation of properties, but revealed that other ideas are being examined by the group:“The JWG will continue to do work to look at further areas of council tax reform, with further meetings scheduled over the summer.“The focus will be on other areas which could be brought in the shorter term, such as aspects of revaluation (e.g.

home extensions); fairness of existing Council Tax discounts; and more effective targeting of reliefs.”Extensions include conservatories and new rooms built on to the side of a house.One local authority source said councils could automatically revalue homes with new extensions and place them in a higher council tax band.Three Government Ministers - Tom Arthur, Joe FitzPatrick and Patrick Harvie - are listed as members of the eight-strong JWG.The Record revealed yesterday that the group is also considering changes to council tax