Congress Not Seeking Tax on Homes

30 Jan 2009

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is not seeking the imposition of a property tax on residential homes contrary to what is being implied in some media reports this morning.

We do believe that a widening of the tax base is necessary but insofar as property tax might feature in this we advocated the following approach, in our recent submission to Government:

"In these circumstances the tax base could be further progressively expanded by the introduction of an income-related property tax on all properties other than the individual's primary domestic residence (indeed, the latter could also be included in respect of 'trophy houses' by imposing the tax after a certain threshold has been reached). Apart from the revenue affect, such a measure would also simultaneously demonstrate equity of approach and also disincentivised non-productive investment."

The objective of Congress is to secure an outcome from these discussions which ensures that the burden of adjustment to the new economic conditions is borne by those most able to do so. The tax code is one of the principle instruments available to Government for achieving fairness.

Our perspective is set out very clearly in our submission to Government, the full text of which can be read here. We would ask all commentators to please check this document or to contact us directly to clarify any aspect of our policy, rather than accepting interpretations of it from political or other sources.

ends