Confused property owners grapple with tax changes and new charges

PROPERTY PURCHASES and how the changes to tax reliefs will affect homeowners were the hot topics among consumers asking how the measures in Budget 2012 will affect them.

A question-and-answer session, conducted through Irishtimes. com over two days with personal finance writers and tax advisers from PricewaterhouseCoopers, revealed confusion for home-owners about what rate of tax relief would apply to them.

There was particular confusion about who qualified for the higher rate of interest relief announced by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan for those who bought at the peak of the boom.

As some home-buyers had moved on to purchase new properties, there were queries about whether they still qualified for the higher rate of tax relief, and if there were any plans to bring in supports for “reluctant landlords”.

Changes to the universal social charge were also unclear for many readers. The exemption limit was raised to €10,036 by the Minister, but it will only be of benefit for those earning under that threshold. The remainder of the State’s taxpayers will continue to pay the the universal social charge on their full income.

Following Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin’s spending review, delivered on Monday, the introduction of the household charge and changes to child benefit were top of the list of concerns, as hard-pressed consumers struggled to see how they would absorb the cuts.

Many of the queries related to whether the renter would be liable for the household charge or if it would fall to the landlord to pay.

Although the charge is levied on the owner, tenants were concerned about whether the landlord could pass on the fee.

“If renters have to pay it, that’s a massive injustice again to those who can’t afford to buy their own homes,” one participant said.

Some posts asked if the collection of the charge could be enforced or if the public could stage a protest against it by simply refusing to pay. However, the Government is proposing late payment fees for those who fail to pay in the first three months of the year.

The change in the upper age limit of the youngest child for new claimants of lone parent allowance, the standardisation of child benefit rates and the loss of some grants for multiple births from January 1st were also among the questions posed during the sessions.

The abolition of maintenance grants for new postgraduate students was also up for discussion, with potential students concerned about the impact the loss would have on plans for further education.

Combined with the rise in student fees for third level by €250 this year, it was a blow for those considering third-level education.