Lib Dem Leader Suggests Tax For Energy Inefficient Homes
You have read correctly, as if we are not being taxed enough, Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat minister has suggested poorly energy efficient homes should be hit by higher council-tax bills.
He thinks councils should favour homeowners who have given their homes a green makeover and punish those who haven’t, but his suggestion was immediately rebuffed by Eric Pickles, the local government secretary.
“People are fed up with Labour’s council-tax rises, and there is no appetite among the public for more,” he said.
Chris Huhne’s suggestion is a first of its sort from a minister, in hope that the incentives such as the Green Deal loans, would be funded by higher tax bills for those who were less efficient. The government is aiming to lower the country’s carbon emissions by getting houses to insulate walls and lofts or install double glazing.
I see Mr Huhne’s point, but I completely disagree with it! This statement seems to completely disregard older homes that are in conservation areas or listed buildings, it seems to disregard the households income, such improvements may not be feasible to some families. I know that as a kid my Mum would not have been able to afford a whole house of new windows, even with the Green Deal loan.
We are already being hit hard with the recession, high unemployment numbers, and the continuing rise in oil and energy prices. It was only recently that Scottish Power announced it would raise gas bills by 20% and British Gas has warned that an increase from them is inevitable. It was also recently discovered that there are hidden taxes within utility bills, which goes towards subsidising climate change policies.
Energy efficiency is becoming a must have in your home, and I definitely agree with that, but taxing people because they haven’t got up to speed yet is harsh and only going to cause more problems for our population.
Punishing people who haven’t improved the energy efficiency of their home is not fair, by all means reward the eco-warriors out there, but we should support the less efficient.
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