Phil Hogan: New tax in 2013 to replace Household Charge
THE Household Tax will cease to exist at midnight tonight but campaigners have vowed to defeat the new Property Tax which will replace it in June in the same way the British were forced to drop the Poll Tax in the 1980s.
The Campaign Against Household & Water Taxes have also rejected Minister Phil Hogan’s “spoofing and bluster over household tax payment figures.”
They say true payment figures are in the order of 61% of properties but some 50% plus of single home owners are still boycotting nine months after government deadline, said Donegal campaigner Owen Curran.
He says non-payment levels are a solid platform for fight against the property tax in 2013.
The CAHWT is holding a national rally against property tax for Saturday 12th January 12:30pm Red Cow Dublin in protest at the new taxes.
Last week Minister Hogan claimed 70% of people have paid the €100 charge for 2012.
“We would absolutely dispute Minister Hogan’s registration figures. We have consistently pointed out that the true target figure for the government is in the order of 1.8 million households not the lower target of 1.6 million which they claim thus inflating their figures for compliance,” said Mr Curran.
“The government inadvertently expose themselves on this point by the fact that they claim they are targeting around 1.9 million households for the property tax, that is the true figure plus council houses, still an underestimate by them but closer to the truth than the spoofing they have been pedaling to an unquestioning media throughout the year.
“So the true level of registration is around 61% of all properties. However, through parliamentary questions we have been able to demonstrate that the overall figure of registered properties obscures the fact that among single home property owners the boycott remains as high as 50%.
“This boycott, nine months after the government deadline compares very favorably with year one of the Poll Tax in Britain for example where a 30% boycott of all liable adults was achieved in year one (1988) and grew every year thereafter until it was abolished in 1991
“This boycott of the household tax is a solid platform for the launch of our battle against the property tax in 2013. Many of those who paid the household tax under protest and duress will come back into the fold of the Campaign next year. There is an economic imperative for people to resist these unjust taxes, they simply cannot pay.
“The Campaign is beginning its fight against the property tax in 2013 with a national public rally in the Red Cow Inn on Saturday 12th January at 12:30pm. We encourage everybody opposed to the property tax and willing to support a boycott campaign to come along.”
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