VILLAGE TAXES
VILLAGE TAXES
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“TITLE DEEDS TAX”
This misleading name is what the Village Office calls a local property tax which is added to your Village Taxes once you have received your title deeds. It is NOTImmoveable Property Tax, which is levied only on the title holders of high value properties and paid annually to Central Government. The local tax is briefly described in the Village Taxes table which we produced for years 2009/10 and 2010/11, which can be found on the website on the “Village Office” drop down tab. The property charge, which is added to your Community Charge bill when you receive your title deeds, is based on the square metres of your property. The level of the tax is decided by the Village Council.
So far so good. This is a legitimate local tax, it is not excessive, and it seems that when the Village Office are notified by the Land Office that you have received your title deeds they automatically add the tax to your Community charge. That, at least, is the experience of two residents I have spoken to who have gone to the VO specifically to check.
But, here is a very worrying warning.
Mrs Pat Bancroft, who is 80, went in to pay her Village taxes recently as she always does as soon as she receives her demand. She was asked if she had her title deeds, and she happily replied that she did. Whereupon she was informed not only that she would have to pay nine years of back taxes, but that she also had to pay a fine – in spite of the fact that she had never been informed that the payment was due.
Pat was in shock, and when she protested that this was totally unfair, she was informed that, if she did not pay, the Village Office would never sign off her property as up-to-date with her taxes and she would be unable to sell it.
We have always praised the Village Office for their tremendous efforts on our behalf, and their ability to deal with an endless stream of hot, cross residents. But it strikes us as outrageous that if the Village Office themselves fail to inform residents - even of the existence of a tax – they should then demand years of back taxes and impose fines. They gave us clear information about the Rental Tax – why not this one?
This was a tax Pat (and indeed most of us) have never heard of. It seems that the Land Registry automatically inform the local authorities when title deeds are transferred – so the Village Office should have this information. How, having had this information for 9 years, can the Village Office feel comfortable about fining an upstanding, totally honest resident for non-payment when they know she has never been a day late paying a penny of her taxes? If they did not have the information, then why are they penalising Pat? It also seems that they have charged her for 2001 and 2002, when she did not get her title deeds until 2003.
Pat does not have a computer and even those who do knew nothing about how this tax worked. Cypriots, apparently, receive notification every September. The English do not.
This story is deeply unfair.
Hopefully the Village Council will reconsider – and at the very least remove the fine.
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We have found (over 13 years) that the simplest thing is to open an account at the Co-op Bank and make the payments by direct debit. Basically, unless you are involved in any business, there are three payments: the Community Charge, refuse and the Cemetery Tax, all of which are annual and come on a single bill. Water is charged for separately according to how much you use and the payment is made quarterly.
Oh yes, and dog licences if you have a dog/dogs!
If, on the other hand, you prefer to make payments at the Office in cash, be sure to obtain receipts to avoid any misunderstanding.
If you pay by direct debit you will receive copies of the bills by post. There are sometimes arguments about this if you pay in cash.