surcharge

A further £44,250 would have been due if he was an owner of the property because a stamp duty surcharge for second home purchase would have been due.

Customers of the three utilities are already on the hook for contributing $10.5 billion to the original fund through a surcharge of about $3 on their monthly bills.

"Banks based here already pay both a corporation tax surcharge and a bank levy," the trade association said.

However, it seems there is now a growing political movement against SUVs, with Lambeth Council considering whether to impose a parking surcharge on "supersize" cars.

In 1998, California voters slapped cigarettes with a hefty surcharge to pressure smokers to give up their habit.