Household charge a recipe for disaster

THE proposal to hit all households with a property charge of €100 per annum in default of which a penalty of €10 for every month the charge goes unpaid which amounts to 120% a year, however inevitable, is a recipe for disaster.

Even though €100 is less than €2 a week, the property tax could be a lightning rod for protests among those already squeezed by higher tax and the growing number of householders in mortgage arrears will still have to pay, as will pensioners. Some pensioners will easily afford €100 a year while others will not.

As no property taxes were imposed on households for decades the proposal is denounced as premature and socially divisive.