TPA campaigner Mike Hobson deserves a big pat on the back for rallying against the ‘bedroom tax’ imposed by Purbeck Council on property extensions. The tax is a £1,000 council levy on any property extension within the borough, naturally hitting those who want to improve their homes as well as the building trade which is already faltering in an economy bordering on recession. The reason it’s called a bedroom tax, would you believe, is because the council’s default position is to assume all extensions could be bedrooms!!
The council claim the money is used to fund transport improvements. That’s some cheek seeing as the authority hiked council tax by 6.3% in 2007-8. Where’s the money going in Purbeck that they feel the need to whack us with even more taxes?
In talking to Mike yesterday, however, he’s received no replies from councillors when he asked them their views about the bedroom tax. Now to me it seems if you’re working for the taxpayer than you should at least give them the courtesy of a reply. So, what we urge you to do is ask all of Purbeck’s councillors what their opinion is on the bedroom tax – are they for or against? .
It’s one thing to impose a tax at the worst possible time. It adds insult to injury when the politicians won’t defend their high taxing policies to the very people who pay their wages!
So do please contact Purbeck’s councillors and ask them to scrap the bedroom tax!
Here’s a template email you can send:
“Dear Councillor,
It surely can’t be the right time to impose a new tax, least of all on housing extensions and alterations as the ‘bedroom tax’ does. This tax merely penalises those who want to improve their property as well as discouraging and doing harm to the building trade when our economy borders on recession.
If you support the bedroom tax, I would like to know why it’s right to levy £1,000 charges on home extensions. If you do not, can you tell me what plans there are to scrap the bedroom tax?
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours,”
You can either send the above template email or one of your own to the following councillors on Purbeck council:
Cllr Malcolm Barnes - [email protected]
Cllr David Budd - [email protected]
Cllr Nick Cake - [email protected]
Cllr Martin Colvey - [email protected]
Cllr Keith Critchley - [email protected]
Cllr David Cross - [email protected]
Cllr Nigel Dragon - [email protected]
Cllr Fred Drane - [email protected]
Cllr Beryl Ezzard - [email protected]
Cllr Simon Goldsack - [email protected]
Cllr Keith Green - [email protected]
Cllr Graham Holmes - [email protected]
Cllr Paul Johns - [email protected]
Cllr Mike Lovell - [email protected]
Cllr Gloria Marsh - [email protected]
Cllr Eric Osmond - [email protected]
Cllr Ali Patrick - [email protected]
Cllr Mike Pratt - [email protected]
Cllr Barry Quinn - [email protected]
Cllr Andrew Starr - [email protected]
Cllr Wendy Starr - [email protected]
Cllr Gary Suttle - [email protected]
Cllr Bill Trite - [email protected]
Cllr Peter Wharf - [email protected]