English: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. We've brought this debate forward today because we feel that we must get rid of an unacceptable injustice. I have been raising the issue of council tax on second homes for some time. The wording of our motion is deliberately open-ended. I know that the Welsh Government has been looking for a solution - I had a meeting with some of the officials of the Government back in the summer. But, unfortunately, so far there's no sign that anything is going to change. And I have to say I was very disappointed this afternoon with the response of the Finance Minister, who said that there wasn't a loophole in the system. To me, that was astonishing. Even though the motion is open-ended, I do propose a way forward and I'm looking forward eagerly to hearing the response of the Minister. Although owners of second homes are among the richest people in Britain, in Wales they can use the system in order to avoid paying council tax. By registering their second property as a small business, second-home owners can avoid paying council tax by transferring to the business rate system. But, given that the rateable value of their property is low, 94 per cent of them are eligible for business rate relief. That is, they don't have to pay business rates either. But they are not businesses - they're domestic homes. So, they don't pay council tax and they don't pay business rates, even though the owners do use our roads, our pavements, our street lighting, our drains, our public toilets and so forth. This is unjust, and that is why I am continuing to challenge this system. It is a scandal, and that's why we have to find solutions and act in order to get rid of this injustice. It's an issue of equality, and I can't understand why Welsh Labour is allowing this to continue. It is a problem that is increasing. There are 5.2 million people in Britain who are second-home owners by now, compared with 1.6 million just a few years ago, and research shows that nine of every 10 second-home owners in the UK are among the 50 per cent of the richest people in the country. But, in Wales, the second-home owners have found a way of saving money, a legal way - I'm not arguing about that; it is a legal way - but one that does create a great injustice and unfairness. The problem is tied to section 66 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. That Act allows second-home owners to move their property from the council tax system if they register their property as a self-catering property for part of the year. It is a problem across Wales, but, in areas where there are many second homes, that's where the worst effects can be felt. There are 5,000 second homes in Gwynedd, which is the county with the largest number of second homes in Wales, and probably among the regions of the UK. However, nearly 2,000 people are on the waiting list for social housing in the county. Local people are being priced out of the housing market, creating a crisis in many of our communities. Gwynedd Council is eager to mitigate this problem and second home owners need to pay an additional premium on their council tax. This is happening in other parts of Wales given the powers that came into effect in 2014. In Gwynedd, the idea is to spend the revenue that's raised in this fashion to build affordable homes and social housing, and we genuinely need those kinds of homes. But, as I've just described, an increasing number of second home owners have found a way of not paying council tax. Up to 1,000 of the 5,000 second homes in Gwynedd have found this anomaly in the system.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rydym ni wedi dod â'r ddadl yma gerbron heddiw gan ein bod ni'n teimlo bod rhaid cael gwared ar anghyfiawnder hollol annerbyniol. Dwi wedi bod yn codi mater treth cyngor ail gartrefi ers tro. Mae geiriad ein cynnig yn fwriadol benagored. Dwi'n gwybod bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi bod yn chwilio am ddatrysiad - mi ges i gyfarfod efo rhai o swyddogion y Llywodraeth yn ôl yn yr haf. Ond, yn anffodus, hyd yma does dim arwydd bod unrhyw beth am newid. Ac mae'n rhaid i fi ddweud, roeddwn i'n siomedig iawn y prynhawn yma efo ymateb y Gweinidog Cyllid, a oedd yn dweud nad oedd yna ddim loophole yn y system. I fi, roedd hynny yn rhyfeddol. Er bod y cynnig yn benagored, dwi yn cynnig ffordd ymlaen a dwi'n edrych ymlaen yn eiddgar at glywed ymateb y Gweinidog. Er bod perchnogion ail gartrefi ymhlith y cyfoethocaf yng ngwledydd Prydain, yng Nghymru maen nhw'n gallu defnyddio'r system er mwyn osgoi talu treth cyngor. Wrth gofrestru eu hail gartrefi fel busnesau bach, mae'r perchnogion yn gallu osgoi talu treth cyngor drwy drosglwyddo i'r system drethi busnes. Ond gan fod gwerth ardrethol eu heiddo nhw yn isel, mae 94 y cant ohonyn nhw yn gymwys i ryddhad trethi busnes. Hynny yw, dydyn nhw ddim yn gorfod talu trethi busnes chwaith. Ond nid busnesau ydyn nhw - tai domestig ydyn nhw. Felly, dydyn nhw ddim yn talu treth cyngor a dydyn nhw ddim yn talu trethi busnes, er bod y perchnogion, wrth gwrs, yn defnyddio'n ffyrdd ni, ein palmentydd ni, ein goleuadau stryd ni, ein draeniau ni, toiledau cyhoeddus ac yn y blaen. Mae hyn yn anghyfiawn, a dyna pam dwi'n parhau i'w herio fo. Mae o'n sgandal, a dyna pam mae'n rhaid canfod atebion a gweithredu er mwyn dileu'r anghyfiawnder. Mae o'n fater o gydraddoldeb, a dwi'n methu deall pam mae Llafur yng Nghymru yn caniatáu i hyn barhau. Mae hi'n broblem sy'n cynyddu. Mae yna 5.2 miliwn o bobl ym Mhrydain yn berchen ar ail gartrefi erbyn hyn, o'i gymharu â 1.6 miliwn dim ond ychydig flynyddoedd yn ôl, ac mae ymchwil yn dangos bod naw o bob 10 perchennog ail gartref ym Mhrydain ymhlith hanner mwyaf cyfoethog y boblogaeth. Ond, yng Nghymru, mae perchnogion ail gartrefi wedi ffeindio ffordd o arbed arian, ffordd gyfreithiol - dwi ddim yn dadlau ynglŷn â hynny - ffordd gyfreithiol, ond un sydd yn creu annhegwch mawr. Mae'r broblem ynghlwm ag adran 66 o Ddeddf Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol 1988. Mae'r Ddeddf hon yn caniatáu i berchnogion ail gartrefi symud eu heiddo o'r system treth cyngor os ydyn nhw'n gosod eu heiddo fel llety hunan-ddarpar am gyfnodau byr o'r flwyddyn. Mae'n broblem sy'n codi ar draws Cymru, ond, yn y siroedd lle mae llawer o ail gartrefi, mae effaith hyn i'w deimlo waethaf, wrth gwrs. Mae yna 5,000 o ail gartrefi yng Ngwynedd, y sir gyda'r nifer fwyaf o ail gartrefi yng Nghymru, a mwy na thebyg yng ngwledydd Prydain. Ar y llaw arall, mae bron i 2,000 o bobl ar y rhestr aros ar gyfer tai cymdeithasol yn y sir. Mae pobl leol yn cael eu prisio allan o'r farchnad dai, gan greu argyfwng mewn nifer o'n cymunedau. Mae Cyngor Gwynedd yn awyddus i liniaru hyn, ac mae angen i berchnogion ail gartrefi dalu premiwm ychwanegol ar eu treth cyngor. Mae hyn yn digwydd mewn rhannau eraill o Gymru yn sgil pwerau a ddaeth i rym yn 2014. Ac yng Ngwynedd, y syniad ydy gwario'r dreth sy'n cael ei chodi yn y ffordd yma ar godi tai fforddiadwy a thai cymdeithasol, ac mae gwir angen y math yna o dai. Ond, fel dwi newydd ddisgrifio, mae nifer cynyddol o berchnogion ail gartrefi wedi canfod ffordd o beidio talu'r dreth cyngor, gyda dros 1,000 o'r 5,000 o ail gartrefi yng Ngwynedd wedi canfod yr anomali yn y system.