Paying the Price – Tourist town at war with second home owners backs down after council tax hike sees house prices plunge

A TOURIST hotspot town embroiled in raging war against second home owners has been forced to row back further on harsh council tax hikes.

Bungling Pembrokeshire officials have made the “massively embarrassing” decision to slash its second home council tax premium – for the second time in a year.

Home to holiday hotspots Tenby and Solva, local authorities admitted the tax had sparked real financial hardship for the town and hit tourism hard.

Councillors have now narrowly voted to cut the penalty to 125 per cent – which is expected to save buyers £500 on an average bill.

The cut marked the second in 12 months – with the rate already slashed down from 200 per cent last year.

It comes after hundreds of second home owners flooded the market to swerve the tax…..

…Calum Phillips, senior sales negotiator with a leading estate agency in Tenby, said the home tax has had a crippling effect.

He said: “The second-home tax and the effect it’s had on the town is a conversation I have every day with buyers and sellers….

The 200 per cent tax raid last year was initially popular with locals who feared being priced out of their hometown.

But it caused a “disaster” – with a loophole making the situation even worse.

Second-home owners swerved the premium by putting their homes up for sale.

Buying agent Carol Peett http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk told the Sunday Times: “The situation is a nightmare – total disaster.