I am one of the people who, through no great foresight on my part, managed to amass assets worth hundreds of thousands of Euro by being able to pay my first home when I was 23, 2 years out of an apprenticeship. That simply could not happen now. That means that I am part of the capital owning class who are massively advantaged in our country. It is utterly unconscionable to me that people in my position should not pay property tax.
Property tax reduced the value of housing so it makes it more affordable for first time buyers.
It provides income for the State to use for social housing, as domestic rates were used from the 1950's to the 1970's and it broadens the tax base so we are not taxing wealth creation but rather wealth retention. I simply do not understand how people with small or no mortgages can be so myopic and selfish that they think they should not pay some tax on an asset that they did nothing to grow. It would be quite easy to have a situation where mortgage interest paid by current mortgage holders could be offset against the tax so that those who bought recently were protected.
How is it that so-called left wing parties can be against such a tax? Instead they target high earners, as if they were the ones with the spare cash, when the real distinction is between those who bought before the last boom and those who bought since.
The average new mortgage in Ireland is €230,000 which means repayments of about €1100 a month. You have to earn about extra €27,500 gross to make that repayment. In Dublin and other cities that mortgage will be considerably higher. According to the populist view someone on €55,000 is not well paid but someone on €85,000 plus is well paid but if the guy on €55k owns their own home with no mortgage and the guy on €85k is a first time buyer they have the same net income.
Property tax reduced the value of housing so it makes it more affordable for first time buyers.
It provides income for the State to use for social housing, as domestic rates were used from the 1950's to the 1970's and it broadens the tax base so we are not taxing wealth creation but rather wealth retention. I simply do not understand how people with small or no mortgages can be so myopic and selfish that they think they should not pay some tax on an asset that they did nothing to grow. It would be quite easy to have a situation where mortgage interest paid by current mortgage holders could be offset against the tax so that those who bought recently were protected.
How is it that so-called left wing parties can be against such a tax? Instead they target high earners, as if they were the ones with the spare cash, when the real distinction is between those who bought before the last boom and those who bought since.
The average new mortgage in Ireland is €230,000 which means repayments of about €1100 a month. You have to earn about extra €27,500 gross to make that repayment. In Dublin and other cities that mortgage will be considerably higher. According to the populist view someone on €55,000 is not well paid but someone on €85,000 plus is well paid but if the guy on €55k owns their own home with no mortgage and the guy on €85k is a first time buyer they have the same net income.
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