Sir, – The hue and cry over Airbnb hosts having to pay tax on what is clearly earned income will jar with “accidental landlords”.
Many are in the unfortunate position of paying marginal rate income tax on rent from a property in negative equity while forced to pay equal or greater rent for a home in another location due to work or family commitments.
It is surely unfair to charge tax on revenue where there is no net income or benefit to the recipient.
Meanwhile that most middleclass of tax perks – the PPR capital gains exemption for those accidental millionaires fortunate enough to buy homes before the boom – remains unassailable.
At the other end of the spectrum we have a homelessness crisis in Dublin. The leftist dominated city council bemoans lack of resources to tackle the homelessness crisis while spurning its only opportunity to raise tax by voting to reduce the property tax despite the warnings of the chief executive that it could hit homeless services.
Central government attracts the ire of the opposition politicians and NGOs for its housing policies while Dublin City Council with its Sinn Féin Lord Mayor voted unanimously against a progressive taxation which could have helped the poorest in society, and resists planning proposals to boost supply of new homes.
Where is the outrage from those NGOs who advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable? Instead they prefer to blame a remote central government for issues better addressed at local level.
Those who propose increased devolution of responsibility to local government must realise that it is futile to expect anything other than cant and blame shifting from local politicians. – Yours, etc,
MATTHEW GLOVER
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I have been a paying guest of Airbnb hosts on two occasions. And I hope to continue.
In researching what was on offer, I could not but notice that quite a few of the hosts were renting a number of different places; in some cases, quite a number of places. And many of the places were run by property management operators on behalf of their proprietors.
It may well be the case that there are Airbnb hosts who offer a bed in a wardrobe and an extra place at the domestic dining table, but I have yet to find any.
I should also say that as I have no wish to sleep in a wardrobe, I find the Airbnb service very useful indeed. But I really think we need to see it for what it is: an international letting agency for those who are in it for the money. Just like the Revenue people. – Yours, etc,
PETER KENNY
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.