Thurles Information

The revered Hungarian statesman, humanitarian, political thinker, novelist and poet Baron Jozsef Eotvos (Born 1813), having visited Ireland in 1837, stated that no amount of hard work will ever be enough to pay what the landlord requires in rent. No freedom from debt will ever be attainable. Tenant’s debts keep growing year by year, as does their misery and resentment, and this dance ends with non-payers being evicted and sent out on the roads with his wife and children, with begging left as their only hope of survival. The Irish man, he states, who prospers will ultimately fare as badly as the pauper. As soon as he becomes profitable the landlord will raise his rent, until he ends up sharing a similar fate to the beggar.

No, I am not just simply referring solely to 21st century ‘Homeless People’ or indeed to the payment of taxes. What I am highlighting is the right of individuals to raise taxes without voter consultation and “tarring all citizens with the one brush” without due regard to their income, e.g old age pensioners and those unemployed are not likely to avail of the full benefits from future personal taxation reductions.

Elected members of Tipperary Co. Council have voted to approve a 10% increase in our Local Property Tax levy (LPT), which householders throughout the Premier county will be forced to pay in the fiscal year 2018.

Following two hours of often heated debate, the decision to hike up this controversial tax, was eventually formally passed, after Co. Council Management declared that there would be cuts to local authority services e.g. housing maintenance, roads, arts centres, leisure centres, burial grounds committees, sports clubs and tidy towns, in the year ahead if the proposed increase was not fully endorsed.  It would appear that none of the above services for which we are already taxed (motor taxation / rates on business etc); which we purchase (theatre / graves / parking etc); which we pay rent for (Local Authority housing rents); are profitable or run as a profitable business.

Eventually, 22 of our Councillors, mainly from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, voted in favour of the proposed increase, while 14 councillors including five from Sinn Fein and some Independents opposed the measure. This 10% increase in our Local Property Tax levy is expected to raise a projected €1.1829m revenue for Tipperary Co. Council.

So, in 2018 dwellings valued up to €100,000 will see an approximate increase of €9 in tax, while dwellings valued up to the €150,000 can look forward to some €22.50 of an increase and homes valued at between €150,000 and €200,000 will have an extra €31.50 approx. added to their already existing tax bill.

Fingal County Council on the other hand have broken ranks with other Dublin authorities and imposed a 10% reduction in LPT, thus taking advantage of a rule which allows them to reduce the maximum amount of property tax in their administrative area by 15%.

But don’t worry folks, Mr Leo Varadkar is going to reduce all of our personal taxation in the next Budget, particularly if you get up early in the morning; so one is bound to cancel out the other, if you pay personal income tax.