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The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for allocating the correct council tax band to all homes in Wales. We have
completed a revaluation, or review, of all domestic properties
in Wales and placed them into the new bands that came into effect in Wales on 1 April 2005. You may have heard
this exercise referred to as ‘Council Tax Reval 2005’.
This is the first revaluation of domestic property in Wales since
council tax was introduced in 1993. The VOA has a legal duty to
review property values to bring them into line with changes in
the property market and ensure information is up to date. In Scotland, the law is different and the
Scottish Assessors undertake valuation work.
The valuation date for the revaluation exercise was set two years
prior to the date the new council tax valuation lists came into
effect. Because the lists came into effect on 1 April
2005, the valuation date in Wales was 1 April 2003. Therefore, your
property has been placed in a band that reflects its value at that
date, rather than its current value. The set valuation date ensures
that the value of all properties is assessed as at a fixed point
in time, making it a fair system for everyone.
The VOA takes account of the size, age and character of the property, as well as the area it is in and uses sales price data from around the valuation
date to arrive at the correct band for the property. Even if your
property was built after 1 April 2003, we band the property according
to what we think its value would have been on 1 April 2003 and
we use comparable sales data to enable us to do this.
Local authorities used the new bands to calculate council tax
bills for the year 2005/06 and these were issued in February/March
2005.
Council Tax Notices for Householders in Wales
In September 2004, the VOA issued a ‘notice’ to
council taxpayers in Wales - a letter that states the new band
- together with an explanatory leaflet.
We are continually looking for new ways to improve our communications
with taxpayers and ensure valuation lists are as accurate as possible.
Taxpayers can get in touch with us
if they have queries regarding their new banding by using the helpline - 0845 600 1748.
Information about the postponement of council tax revaluation in England.
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