Household charge will not help to create a better society

I remember at the time the household charge was announced some people were calling on the Government to increase income tax.

This was rejected, even for those on salaries of over €100,000 a year. The excuse from the Government was that raising income tax was a “tax on work”.

What a pathetic excuse. The reality was — and still is — that the Government doesn’t want to make people on high salaries pay a higher, that is to say, a fair amount of tax.

Anyway, there is no doubt that the billionaire paying the same household charge as the poor person is a grossly unfair way to raise tax. It is also an expensive and inefficient way of raising tax. Using income tax to pay for local services is fair.

It is also a less costly way to collect tax. I’d say it’s far cheaper than trying to collect the household charge, especially when a lot of people choose, for whatever reason, not to pay.

I only hope that the Government will scrap the household charge, reimburse those who have already paid it, then increase progressive income tax to pay for local services.

It is also important that the Government provide to everyone a list of the local essential services that income tax will pay for.

These should really be services that are essential to everyone, not such non-essential things such as trips to China, attending various seminars in Ireland or abroad, doing up the lord mayor’s rooms at huge expense, or any other thing that cannot be honestly described as an essential service.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan has had to turn to income tax to raise the necessary money for essential local services. It makes sense to keep it that way.

It would also be sensible to put a levy on all wealth over €1m. This would help to reduce the pain of austerity being felt by those on very low incomes.

Such things as suggested above would help to develop a good society.

The household charge would never help to do so.

Indeed, it is already setting people against each other — something the Government is helping at the moment.

Brian Abbott

Bishopstown Rd

Cork