Price of petrol? Up. Loaf of bread? Up. New bedroom for granny? Up up up

photo credit: mojo-jo-jo
At a time when many home owners are already struggling to make ends meet, Purbeck Council in Dorset have apparently been squeezing every penny out of people who are trying to claw back some value on their mortgaged-up-to-the-eyeballs homes.

Baring a stark resemblance to the introduction of window tax in 1696, they’ve been charging a £1,000 ‘bedroom tax’ for any extension rooms which ‘have the capacity to become a bedroom’. Eh? How do you define that?

“Yes we see a bright future for this 3ft by 3ft room, it definitely has the capacity to become a bedroom for a very small person. Or your dog perhaps. £1,000 please.”

Well actually they’ve used the age old sales trick and it’s only £993. See? Not even £1,000. Bargain.

£90,000 for top bedroom action

The scheme has reportedly raked in £90,000 in one year for Purbeck. That’s a lot of bedroom action. The council says the money goes to maintaining public transport and roads but they’ve been accused of abusing planning laws which were initially aimed at big property developers, i.e. those who are building a large block of flats which would bring in extra people and traffic to the area, not someone who wants a space above the garage to play on their Wii.

Pet shop boys

So what’s next, a tax on how many hamsters per square metre you can fit in your living room? A man with a clipboard will be round immediately to start counting.

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