Thought I'd try and kick this one off with a rant!
Seems like us Cornish folk are paying what I like to call the tourist tax. By this I mean the higher water rates and council tax we pay for what we are often told is the privillege of living in the most beautiful part of the country. OK I agree with the last part which is why I'm still here.
So where does this extra money go? Well the water rates is obviously to keep our beaches clean. But who are we actually cleaning up after? Well I suspect it is the horde of tourists who visit us for 3 months of the year. This I don't have a huge problem with but why we subsidise them I don't understand. The poorest region in the country subsidising the more affluent, bizarre!
So who benefits from this arrangement? Well it seems to me it is those involved in the tourist industry. The very same who charge us artificially high prices for our food, parking and outings 3 months of the year. Double whammy!
So what about the high council tax? Well I suspect a fair proportion of this goes on promoting Cornwall as a tourist destination and beautifying it to make it fit for all our summer visitors. Hmm, who benifits from this.
It's not that I'm against tourism per se, it's just I think it would be nice if maybe the tourists and those running the tourist trade did a little more to subsidise it.
End of rant.
The problem is that if the Councils and SWW didn't put the money into the area then the tourists wouldn't come. Love them or hate them, tourists are Cornwall's life blood.
That's partly true but it seems wrong that the money that tourists bring into the region goes into the pockets of those involved in the tourist industry. This profit remains in private hands and the rest of us don't see it yet we help pay for what attracts them.
Surely it should be the tourists or those in the industry paying the tourist tax
So who will pay for all the excesses of tourism - I say second home owners or those who make the most profit from tourism.
It is a difficult one but I certainly think it is unfair that we pay higher council tax because so many people visit here.
I think we should tax dog owners - a dog tax if you like...
I think second home owners are now going to be charged 90% of the council tax, which is a step in the right direction, although I think it should be at least 100% and maybe more if the home is left empty for any amount of time - which I assume most are.
I would assume there is already some type of taxation of holiday accomodation, no doubt cottages etc. would come under the council tax and static caravan sites would in some way be taxed in accordane with the type and number of accomodaion units - I don't know, does anyone? If not then they should be, but we have to be careful taxes are not levied at a level that would make it uneconomical as already the cost of holiday accomodation is very high.
I would agree with a dog tax too - they leave enough poo around on the pavements etc. I think they abolished the dog licence some years back, the reason maybe it was too costly to enforce.
Bring back dog licences and start registration for cats,with a maximum of 2 cats at one house,[ there's 14 cats in 3 houses near my brothers home, PS: he has 3] Dob in someone who doesn't clean up after there dog
Make pet owners be responsible. The dog licence was 7/6p wasn't it?and somehow changing it was put in the too hard basket. As for tourism, surely locals get something out of it, many work in the industry don't they? getting a wage. If the money is going out of the county, it's because someone outside was motivated to set on a tourist project. Seems there's too many sitting back moaning about this & that, but not willing to do anything about.
Many locals do get something out of tourism - possibly the lowest wages in the UK! To then ask these people to subsidise their employers endevours is a little cheeky I think. Also there are many who are not involved in the tourist industry.
My point is the money made through tourism that we all help generate is not equally distributed back into the community.
The other point that Mike makes is lots of the profits go to National companies e.g. Tescos. Tourists use the same supermarkets and petrol stations they do at home. Thats what we mean by money going out of the county not any kind of entrepaneureal spirit. Then again I guess there are plenty of out of county holiday home owners (not to mentinon second home owners) who we are subsidising to buy a new Range Rover every year!
I think there should be higher tax on income from buy-to-let properties. It'll take some bite out of the housing boom. Mrs Troll and I are about to shell out almost 10k a year for a little shoe box. This is considered by most to be a bargain!
So who does benefit from the tourism that we subsidise?
I know a fair few hotel/b&b owners, beach shop and cafe owners and most of them do not originate from down here. Seems like another example of us sponsoring wealthy "blow ins"!
I worked in the travel industry for over 10 yrs. When customers booked their holidays to the caribbean they didn't really mind being told that when they arrived at their destination they would be charged a fee of x amount per day of their stay. They pay when checking in at the hotel. If other places charge a tourist tax, I don't see why Cornwall shouldn't. It could be accounted for quite easily by the hotels, who would put it in a pot to be handed over to the govenment, the way VAT is handed over. There may be an initial hum ding about it all but it would soon blow over and people would accept it eventually.
Here we go again, the helpless Cornish being ridden roughshod over! Is it any wonder that Cornwall lost its nationhood? Is it any wonder that Cornwall is now owned and run by incomers?
[whinge whine] " We desreve special status 'cos we were born here. We deserve to run Cornwall and impose our views on everyone else due to us having lived here all our lives. All you nasty people who come here for holidays, buy up our homes, create jobs and don't give us Cornish people wages above the market value are so nasty!!! We deserve special treatment, we deserve power and influence, we deserve jobs with unfeasble wages. But don't ask us to do anything to achieve this, we deserve it, just like Prince Wingnut deserves to be given Cornwall as a plaything, due to our being born".[/whinge whine]
Honestly!!
If you don't want second homes there; don't sell your houses to anyone other than the Cornish. If you want better paying jobs; start your own business. If you want an influence over Cornish matters; join a real political party and get elected. Stop thinking that if you moan enough people will start voting for MK in droves.
Above all; stop thinking you can drag the rest of the UK down to your level so you can compete on a more level playing field.
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