Fair way to determine property tax

THE introduction of some sort of property and water tax is a certainty, the form is yet to be decided.

There are proposals for valuations to be carried out at great expense and the installation of water meters is only delayed due to lack of funds. There are concerns of fairness and ability to pay such charges when they are levied.

The fairest and simplest way would be to link the size of the dwelling and the household income. Most people know the size of their house, most especially if recently purchased and income is also easily calculated. The calculation would be as follows: take the size of the dwelling in tens of square meters, this would be 15 for a house of 150 square meters, multiply it by the income of the occupant in tens of thousands, say 50, ie. €50,000. This gives a figure of 15 x 50 or 750. This would be the basis for the occupier’s property charges for the year. As these charges are to fund local government, the elected councillors would have to then set a realistic and justified budget and explain themselves to the electorate. The council would each year have to set a figure which would work in the same way as rates do in commercial properties, ie have a multiplier of the property charge. This would work in the following way: if the council needed €225 from the above property, a multiplier of 0.3 would be set as the charge for the year, if more or less was required the multiplier would change. This method has several in-built advantages, no expense in valuing properties, no meters as water usage tends to follow house size and to a lesser extent income, two owners of similar-sized properties would end up paying different charges if their incomes were different. As national income recovers so will the ability of councils to raise funds for extra amenities when the can be afforded and finally it would give more power and accountability to our locally elected government.

All householders would pay this charge as it is directly linked to income, high earners in a small property will pay more regardless of location, pensioners in a large property will pay less. Holiday homes would be charged to the owner while rented units would be charged to the occupier. The charge could be paid as part of the existing tax setup and forwarded to the councils, doing away with the need for a separate collection system and expense. Spot checks on property size would ensure accuracy and compliance.

John Rogers

Rathowen

Westmeath