--- begin forwarded text
Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com
Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 19:37:20 -0500
To: Philodox Clips List
From: "R. A. Hettinga"
Subject: [Clips] Prescott unleashes spy satellites to check on home
improvements
Reply-To: rah@philodox.com
Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-523-1965307-523,00.html
The Sunday Times
January 01, 2006
Prescott unleashes spy satellites to check on home improvements
THE government has advised council-tax inspectors to use "spy in the sky"
satellite cameras to snoop on people's homes to see if they have added
extensions, conservatories and even sheds that could boost the value of
their property, writes David Cracknell.
The Tories have unearthed official documents which show that John Prescott,
the deputy prime minister, plans to use pictures from space as part of his
revaluation of homes across England.
The data will be used to reband people's homes over the next few years,
meaning that property owners whose houses have shot up in value face higher
council tax bills.
The government has postponed a full council tax revaluation but Prescott's
department is putting together a database of every home in England so that
the levy more accurately reflects the true value of properties across the
country.
Even minor improvements, invisible from the road, will be caught by the
technology. Caroline Spelman, the Conservative local government
spokeswoman, said the move amounted to a "new stealth tax on home
improvements".
Country homes will be at particular risk from the technology. According to
an official handbook for inspectors: "Aerial photographs are particularly
effective in rural areas where improvements are hard to see from the road."
Spelman accused Prescott of invading the privacy of people who worked to
improve their homes and penalising those who extended rather than moved to
bigger homes.
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
_______________________________________________
Clips mailing list
Clips@philodox.com
http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips
--- end forwarded text
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
