{"id":1612,"date":"2019-04-06T19:33:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T19:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=1612"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T17:00:00","slug":"False-Claim---Muslims-can-Avoid-Paying-Bedroom-Tax-by-Designating-One-Bedroom-as-a-Prayer-Room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=1612","title":{"rendered":"False Claim &#8211; Muslims can Avoid Paying Bedroom Tax by Designating One Bedroom as a Prayer Room"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>Outline<\/h2>\n<p>Messages circulating via social media claim that Muslims can be exempted from the new bedroom tax imposed on UK welfare recipients by setting aside the spare bedroom as a prayer room. \u00a0 <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- HS Net Top Content Responsive --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0355887770822260\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"4870821038\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Brief Analysis<\/h2>\n<p>The claims are false. Even if tenants choose to designate a room in their house as a place of worship, they cannot use this reason to avoid paying bedroom tax or any other taxes. Versions of this bogus message began circulating long before the bedroom tax was introduced.<\/p>\n<h2>Example<\/h2>\n<div class=\"example\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"21135\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/false-claim-muslims-can-avoid-paying-bedroom-tax-by-designating-one-bedroom-as-a-prayer-room\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"326,456\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax-214x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax.jpg\" alt=\"Bedroom Tax\" width=\"326\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax.jpg 326w, https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bedrom-tax-muslim-hoax-214x300.jpg 214w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"example\">Bedroom tax &#8211; recent development, muslims get one room tax exempt if used as a prayer room, so get the old bible out and get a room tax free.<\/div>\n<h2>Detailed Analysis<\/h2>\n<p>On April 1st 2013, the controversial and unpopular &#8220;bedroom tax&#8221; was imposed on UK welfare recipients as part of wider welfare reform.  \u00a0The tax cuts the amount of benefit that people can receive if they have a spare bedroom in their council or housing association home.<\/p>\n<p>The new rules have caused a great deal of \u00a0<a class=\"norm\" title=\"UK government under fire for 'bedroom tax'\" href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2013-04-02\/uk-government-under-fire-for-bedroom-tax\/4604522\">anger and resentment<\/a> \u00a0in the UK and, in the months leading up to the start date of the tax, have generated ongoing rumours and misunderstandings.<\/p>\n<p>One such rumour suggests that Muslim tenants can avoid the new tax by claiming that their spare bedroom is a prayer room. However, this rumour is unfounded. Muslims, or people of any other faith, cannot claim exemption from the tax by designating a room as a place of worship. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0355887770822260\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"9162856233\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p> There \u00a0<a class=\"norm\" title=\"Bedroom tax 'in chaos' after Iain Duncan Smith announces exemptions\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/society\/2013\/mar\/12\/bedroom-tax-iain-duncan-smith\">are exceptions<\/a> \u00a0that allow some residents to avoid the tax, but a dedicated prayer room is not one of them. A prayer room exemption is \u00a0not listed on the National Housing Federation website \u00a0or on any other official website dealing with the tax.<\/p>\n<p>Nor is it included in any credible news reports about the bedroom tax. Given the great deal of interest that the UK&#8217;s news media has displayed towards the bedroom tax, it is highly improbable that a prayer room based exemption would not have been very widely discussed in publications across the country. The absence of such reports is a clear indication that no such exemption actually exists.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, rumours that Muslim families could avoid paying council taxes by setting aside a room as a prayer area have circulated for years prior to the implementation of the bedroom tax and have been repeatedly dismissed as hoaxes.<\/p>\n<p>A July 2009 This Is Money article, \u00a0<a class=\"norm\" title=\"Prayer rooms \u00e2\u20ac\u201c fact or urban myth?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thisismoney.co.uk\/money\/experts\/article-1678510\/Prayer-rooms-fact-or-urban-myth.html\">noted<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>While it is true that some families have rooms set aside for prayer in their homes, this does not mean they can dodge paying council tax.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I spoke to the Department of Communities and Local Government who told me council tax exemption applies to &#8216;places of public religious worship&#8217; \u00e2\u20ac\u201c what you might loosely call a church.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I was told that to qualify for special council tax treatment, the building used would have to be certified and there would normally be signs advertising the public nature of the worship going on there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And, in 2011, Pendle Council spokesperson Philip Mousdale denied the rumours in a Burnley Express letter to the editor, \u00a0<a class=\"norm\" title=\"LETTER: Debunking rumour over 'prayer room' council tax avoidance\" href=\"http:\/\/www.burnleyexpress.net\/community\/your-say\/letters-to-the-editor\/letter-debunking-rumour-over-prayer-room-council-tax-avoidance-1-3441800\">noting<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>I WOULD like to respond to the letter from Christer Nicholson. He asked for help in debunking a rumour about Muslim households avoiding council tax by having a prayer room and calling their home a place of worship.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, this is something which surfaces from time to time and one must perhaps question the motives of those who spread it. I can assure readers and Christer that it has no substance. According to our records, there are no houses or business premises claiming a reduction or exemption due to having a room(s) designated as a place of worship.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Thus, it seems clear that the bedroom tax prayer room rumours are just revamped variants of older and equally false stories.<\/p>\n<p>Some variants of the message tack on the claim that rooms under 70 sq ft are not counted as bedrooms and are therefore exempt. This claim is also untrue. And, surely, it hardly needs to be said that removing the door of a bedroom will not exempt the room from bedroom tax as suggested in some tongue-in-cheek forum comments.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Third Content Ad Responsive --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0355887770822260\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"1909104632\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- HS Net Bottom AdLinks --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0355887770822260\" data-ad-slot=\"1358951439\" data-ad-format=\"link\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/div>\n<p><\/br><\/br> Original Source : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/false-claim-muslims-can-avoid-paying-bedroom-tax-by-designating-one-bedroom-as-a-prayer-room\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.hoax-slayer.net\/false-claim-muslims-can-avoid-paying-bedroom-tax-by-designating-one-bedroom-as-a-prayer-room\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Outline Messages circulating via social media claim that Muslims can be exempted from the new bedroom tax imposed on UK welfare recipients by setting aside the spare bedroom as a prayer room. \u00a0 Brief Analysis The claims are false. Even if tenants choose to designate a room in their house as a place of worship, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hoax-inggris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}