HOMEOWNERS in Co Donegal will face a new house tax next year based on the value of their homes and gardens – and water charges the following year which together could cost families up to €120 per month.
The double whammy – added to septic tank charges for rural dwellers – has led one group to claim it is proof that “the government has declared war on Irish householders”.
“We have been barraged for the last few days with talk about a property tax which the government is threatening to introduce from the start of 2013,” said John Lyons, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Household & Water Taxes.
“Now they tell us that on top of that within a year they will also be coming after us for a water tax.
“Since the introduction of the household tax earlier this year, our Campaign has warned that the registration process would open the door to charges of over €1,000 per year for every household. We take no pleasure in being proven correct,” Mr. Lyons continued.
“This latest report shows that the government has lost all touch with reality. A series of successive austerity budgets have already devastated the income of households across the country. Ministers and officials who believe they will be able to extract €1,000 a year from householders have lost all touch with reality.”
With water charges of up to €400 a year – the combined charges will, on average, cost families around €120 per month.
And some Fine Gael politicians want council tenants to pay the charges too.
“This latest declaration of war will be met with resistance in every community,” Mr. Lyons continued.
“Campaign groups will be organising to support each other in refusing to pay and will be gearing up to resist the installation of water meters. We know that meters will pave the way not just for charges but for the privatisation of our water supply.”
“While the wealthy continue to get away scot free and the government prepares to hand over another €1 billion to the bondholders, the property tax and the water tax will not be accepted,” Mr. Lyons concluded. “The 1.5 million people already involved in boycotting the registration of the household tax will be joined by hundreds of thousands more people in fighting these austerity taxes.”
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