article_snippet.sent: Second homeowners face being hit with double rates of council tax under Lib Dem plans to protect rural life.
article_snippet.sent: Clegg said wealthy people with holiday homes would not mind having to 'chip in a bit' to protect services in areas where as many as one in 10 homes are vacant for much of the year.
article_snippet.sent: , Cornwall today - said wealthy people with holiday homes would not mind having to 'chip in a bit' to protect services in areas where as many as one in 10 homes are vacant for much of the year .
article_snippet.sent: The double council tax would not be compulsory, but councils in areas like Cumbria, Cornwall and Devon have said councils in areas like Cumbria, Cornwall and Devon would be interested in the idea to 'discourage' second home ownership.
article_snippet.sent: The Lib Dem leader even claimed second home-owners would 'like to chip in a bit extra' to fund the communities in which they they spend they holidays.
article_snippet.sent: That seems to me to be fair and, I have to say to you, I suspect people who own second homes here - many of whom have significant means - would like to chip in a bit extra so that they know that, even though they are not living in a community all the time, they are nonetheless supporting the local services that local people do rely upon.'
article_snippet.sent: What would a fancy second home in Cornwall, what would they pay in council tax, maybe a thousand quid, £1,500? '
article_snippet.sent: Of course I believe in and want to protect people's freedoms to buy holiday homes and second homes.
article_snippet.sent: What I want to do is make sure it's a fair deal for those communities where those second homes are located.'
highlights_snippet.sent: Clegg insists wealthy tourists should 'chip in' to support communities .
  