Madam, - I can understand Minister for Finance Brian Cowen's reluctance to reduce stamp duty in the Budget - he is, no doubt, right to suspect that such a move might have precipitated a sudden increase in house prices. Nevertheless it is high time for the him give serious longer-term consideration to the issue.
A mantra of Mr Cowen and his Government over the years has been "value for money" and it is now time to consider what value house buyers are getting for the stamp duty they pay when buying a house - given that the amount of duty on a fairly modest house in Dublin can well exceed the entire pre-tax annual income of many buyers.
Buyers get some sort of return on what estate agents and solicitors do for them - and, of course, they get their hands on their bricks and mortar - but what do they get for their stamp duty?
The basic idea behind stamp duty was that some charge should be applied to cover the cost of dealing, at an official level, with the sale and transfer of property - and that, in principle, is reasonable. However, it is not plausible to suggest that the cost involved has escalated to the levels at which stamp duty is now levied.
Justice and fair dealing demand that the Government does not continue to sit on its hands on this issue. - Yours, etc,
HARRY McCAULEY, Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Madam, - While the 50c price increase on a packet of 20 cigarettes and related products was disappointingly low, Brian Cowen did recognise that price is a valuable tool in dealing with the serious issue of tobacco addiction.
In doing so he became the second Minister for Finance to call publicly for the social partners to assist the Government in this regard as tobacco products are included in the Consumer Price Index and price increases have a knock-on effect on wage inflation. It is ironic that finance ministers should have to ask for such co-operation, given the stated concern of the social partners themselves for the health of the most vulnerable in society.
Wage increases should not be linked in any way to the price of tobacco products. The trade union movement needs to show leadership by embracing a future Consumer Price Index without tobacco. - Yours, etc,
Dr FENTON HOWELL, Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, South Frederick Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - I empathise with the plight of working mothers who seeing most of their income going on childcare costs, but I do feel that Teresa Zille (December 7th) is a little unfair towards private childcare providers.
Childcare providers have to absorb rises in ESB and gas prices, pay rising domestic waste and water charges, meet tight Government regulations on staff-children ratios and, in some instances, pay outrageous development levies to local authorities when expanding to provide more places.
The Government could have made childcare providers zero-rated for VAT, which would have allowed them to pass on the savings to parents. After all, they are providing an important social service for working families in a similar way to schools and hospitals, which are zero-rated.
Overall, profits in the private childcare sector are marginal to say the least. - Yours, etc,
TOM WARD, Monastery Road, Dublin 22.
Madam, - I congratulate Vincent Browne for his insightful column of December 6th. It is appalling that few other commentators have pointed out how the Budget has become a mechanism for preserving inequality in Irish society, highlighting the Government's failure to adhere to democratic principles. - Yours etc,
CIARA O'DWYER, Lavarna Grove, Dublin 6.
Madam, - It's amazing to see how the Budget, once a Mac knifing, has now become a cash Cowen. - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL KEARY, Aberystwyth, Wales.