Talking property tax on WLR FM

We spoke to WLRFM yesterday (sound file here) about some of the contentious issues with a market value based property tax. Using values will ensure that the quantum collected is not strictly linked to any costs associated with running a local authority.

In the past this was a huge problem, it was the reason our last property tax died off, and when it came to domestic rates, it was used as political fodder in the 1977 general election where its repeal swung the election.

There are alternatives, Site or Land value tax and to have the tax linked to costs of a local authority would be far better, but we are instead opting for the path which suits the Government most rather than those who pay it.

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‘Wat’er rip off! Yet another downside of market value based property tax

Not linking a property tax to the cost of running a local authority means we will have no idea of exactly what we are paying for. When it comes to how local government is funded it works (in simple terms) as follows, you have their costs, from that you take away ‘goods & services’ – this is income the local authority generates. Then you reduce it by the pension levy (local government workers fund this), and after that you traditionally had the local government fund and grants.

The local government fund is made up of car tax for the most part, and until recently it was a key component of funding, it was partially replaced by the household charge and the last portion of funding is made up of commercial rates.

The Dublin City expenditure position is below, note that a sizeable portion of it is spent on water, almost 16% – which is a significant cost.

An issue with a national market value oriented …

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