Defence Secretary John Healey did not pay the full council tax on his London second home following an administrative error blamed on the local Labour council.
Healey underpaid some £1,500 in tax to Westminster council.
The Defence Secretary owns his main home in his constituency of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough in Yorkshire, where he lives with his wife, and began using his Westminster flat a year ago for work purposes. But the council failed to classify the property as a second home and issued an incorrect bill.
Healey corrected the underpayment at the end of last week, but only after the Daily Telegraph contacted him.
A spokesman for Healey has told the media: “The Secretary of State fulfilled all his obligations as a tenant by notifying Westminster council of the second home status of the tenancy on the council tax registration form when the tenancy began.
“Westminster council made an administrative error which failed to classify it as a second home for council tax purposes, and led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued.
“The council have accepted fault and apologised for the error.
“Westminster council have rectified this mistake and the council tax liability, including the second homes surcharge, on the London flat has been paid in full.”
A council spokesman adds: “The Secretary of State filled in the form correctly and registered the address as a second home.
“There was an oversight by the council, and we did not register it as a second home.
“This led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. We apologise for the error.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today