THE issues of glasshouses, lean-tos and building use all came up when the first Tax on Real Property tribunal sat yesterday.
The TRP system, which replaced Tax on Rateable Value, uses aerial images to work out the taxable area and measures the size by the roof shape.
‘The aim was to remove the subjectivity of the old system and also reduce the need to enter properties,’ said chief Cadastre officer Mike Burton. The tribunal deals with issues that people have with the amount they are being taxed.
The first sitting was chaired by Stuart Le Maitre with Caroline Latham and Sheelagh Evans as members. It focused on whether a storage space had been correctly categorised.
Milton Brehaut has rented a small space at Les Grippios warehouse at Bordeaux for more than eight years.
He uses it to store electrical equipment that he rents out and has a small editing suite for transferring videos to DVDs. It has been classed as retail.
The warehouse is owned by Jim Price, who applied to the tribunal.
‘Mr Brehaut is quite upset by his classification,’ he said. ‘Retail is the sale of goods to the public. Now Mr Brehaut does not sell goods. It’s more of a hobby than a business.’
Cadastre had been unable to access the property and had assessed Mr Brehaut’s tax classification from earlier documents that had put him in the same category as other rental businesses, such as fancy-dress shops and scaffolding hirers.
‘We have to be seen to be applying consistency, continuity and equality across the premises of similar businesses,’ said Mr Burton.
The tribunal will visit the property in the new year to determine the use.
The second case was also chaired by Mr Le Maitre, who was joined by John Weir and Ms Latham.
It revolved around the question of when is a lean-to an outbuilding. The answer is never.
Douglas Wright has a small lean-to used for storing family bicycles. According to his architect’s drawings, his home is 89.5sq. metres. However, when the new system was brought in, Mr Douglas was surprised that his house had grown to 99sq. metres.
After careful examination of the law in this case, the tribunal found that any building that touched the main property was included in the main building’s taxable area.
Mr Douglas then withdrew his complaint.
The next tribunal will be on Monday and there will be further sittings in the new year, depending on the demand.
Article posted on 9th December, 2008 - 2.29pm
Most Commented: