Stealth house taxes ‘put thousands of jobs at risk’

THOUSANDS of jobs and millions of euro in investment will be lost because of the sharp rise in development levies by local authorities, the IDA and construction industry have warned.

The business lobby group IBEC has also written to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern outlining “strong reservations” about the introduction of the stealth taxes by local authorities to fund roads, drainage, parks and community centres.

The levies, introduced by Environment Minister Martin Cullen, will also hit househunters, adding up to €20,000 to the price of a new house.