Details of property tax to be unveiled in budget

NO INFORMATION on the proposed property tax will be revealed before December’s budget, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has insisted.

He said: “Fianna Fáil were jumping up and down when some of the budgetary details went out prematurely from my office in February 1995 and I resigned. A lot of information has gone out since and nobody has resigned,” he said.

Mr Hogan told Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Barry Cowen he was “not going to fall into the situation of actually detailing to you or anyone else in this House in advance of the Minister for Finance making his budget statement”.

The Minister indicated, however, local authorities would have some financial responsibility in relation to the tax although he refused to say if they would have power to set rates for the charge.

During question time Mr Cowen had criticised Mr Hogan for failing to make the Thornhill report on property tax available for debate, since the Minister received it in May.

He said the Cabinet had not yet discussed the property tax and the only decision implemented was that the Revenue Commissioners would collect the tax, to come into effect next summer.

“Will you not share the report with someone, at least those in Cabinet,” he asked. “It can’t be that scary although I realise you have done some scary things in the past 12 months.”

The Laois-Offaly TD said the Minister should give at least “an indication of where we are going with regard to the property tax. The vagueness of it only adds to the aspirational feel.”

He added that the Minister had opened the debate but had not produced the report.

He also asked if the Minister expected local authorities to “augment” the property tax and if that would also be collected by Revenue.

Mr Hogan pointed out that the property tax was negotiated by Fianna Fáil in 2010 and included as part of the memorandum of understanding in the EU-IMF agreement.

The Thornhill report had been commissioned to establish “how we could implement the decision made by deputy Cowen’s party in government”.