Property Tax: Playing politics with the vulnerable

The property tax is being exploited ruthlessly by politicians — irrespective of the cost to any principles they may claim to possess, writes Michael Clifford

IRISH democracy has a great outing on Monday evening. In councils around the country, but most particularly in Dublin and Cork, elected politicians flew the flag for Ireland’s unique brand of democracy. Those whom we might categorise as right-wing turned out to be socialists, while some who beat their chests as self-styled socialists put shoulder to the wheel for society’s better-off. Underpinning the whole exercise was the imperative that perception must always triumph reality, irrespective of the cost, particularly to those who might be classified the most vulnerable.

Monday’s council meetings were concerned with the most routine political choice in developed democracies. Should priority be given to cutting taxes or ensuring that there is sufficient money to spend on services? The tax at issue is the highly controversial Local Property Tax. Ten councils were given the choice of cutting the rate of property tax for next year by up to 15%.