RICS responds to Wales' plans to reform council tax

Article summary

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has responded to the Welsh Government’s plans to reform council tax. The planned reforms will introduce new tax bands and rates that reflect the value of properties more accurately, as the average property value in Wales has increased by 150% since the last revaluation in 2003. There are some concerns that the reforms may have unintended consequences, such as increasing the financial burden on low-income households who live in now higher-valued properties. RICS Senior Public Affairs Officer for Wales, Samuel Rees, welcomed the efforts to make the system more transparent and increase residents’ understanding of how council tax is calculated. However, Rees also noted that ‘the lack of high-quality, affordable housing stock across tenures continues to be a significant challenge for Wales’.