Just 3 per cent of homeowners have sought property tax deferral, says Noonan

Homeowners consider the property tax fair and have an ability to pay it because fewer than 3 per cent have sought deferrals, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has told the Dáil.

He said more than 1.55 million returns had been received for the tax. “Less than 3 per cent of the 1.55 million homeowners who registered for the property tax sought deferrals,” Mr Noonan said.

“So, that’s a fair indication that the public regard this as a fair tax and that they have an ability to pay it, because they didn’t seek deferral even though the options were available.”

He said over €121 million had already been paid to the exchequer, which was a significant amount, given that payment was not due until July.

The Minister said the tax offered an opportunity for political reform at local government level. “It would provide a stable funding basis for local authorities.”

He was responding to a Sinn Féin private member’s motion, which introduces legislation to repeal the tax.

'Austerity tax'
The party's finance spokesman Pearse Doherty rejected the assertion that the charge would fund local authorities. He said it was "an austerity tax being levied on home owners to pay off banking debts".

He said that with a return of €500 million a year if everyone paid the tax, it would take more than 125 years to pay off the banks’ debts.

"That's 5½ years to pay the so-called investment in Irish Life & Permanent," he said. " It would take 9½ years to repay the money sunk into Bank of Ireland, 10½ years to repay Irish Nationwide debt, 41½ years to repay the bailing out of AIB and over 50 years of property taxes to recoup what was paid into Anglo Irish Bank.

“Overall, that is 125 years of property tax returns, year after year after year for 125 years, just simply to pay off the toxic banking debt. So let’s not pretend that this tax is anything to do with local services because the people simply aren’t buying it.”

Mr Doherty said “the people are not fooled. They know where this money is going. They know that this will go into paying for some of the excesses in Irish society.”

Mr Doherty referred to the provision to allow local authorities increase the tax by up to 15 per cent from January 2015. He pledged that every Sinn Féin candidate who won a seat in the local elections next year, “will be mandated to vote to reduce the charge by the maximum allowable of 15 per cent as soon as possible”.

Mr Noonan said that was how local democracy should operate. “If people want more services they should propose increases in tax. If they think things can be run on a tighter basis, they should propose reductions in tax.”

'Partitionist'
He again hit out at Sinn Féin policy in the North to support property taxes. He accused the party of being "partitionist and sectarian", because "you have one law you justify in Northern Ireland and you have another which you deplore in the South".

He told Sinn Féin TDs: “Lads, if you ever want to aspire to be over here [on the Government benches], would you ever grow up and take these issues seriously.”