Sir, – Harry McGee's spotlight on the growing unease over property taxes ("Dubliners 'could face huge increases in property tax'", October 18th) reminds us of what a very bad model was chosen as the basis for this tax.
The time bomb that is built into the legislation, a property revaluation in 2016, should have been foreseen by the legislators who framed and passed this law. The whole approach to the tax was founded on a flawed and unsustainable model from the beginning – the tax is based on market value of a property rather than on the living space it provides. The present Dublin property bubble represents a looming financial debacle for hundreds of thousands of people that should have been anticipated. But then, was this not the “guillotine Government” that denied enough time to debate the legislation?
Post-2016 those in employment may be able to negotiate with their employers for a raise in pay but those on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, face the oncoming storm without any means of avoiding further swingeing cuts to their already depressed living standards.
There is still time for legislators to revisit the tax and substitute a fairer, more stable model than a floating property market.
In Germany, France and many other countries, property tax is calculated on the basis of a rate per square metre of usable living area. Such a system here would remove the vagaries of localised property markets, provide tax consistency throughout the country and assure property owners of the stability needed to manage their household budgets. – Yours, etc,
BERNARD KEOGH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.