A PROPERTY tax on the family home which people would have to pay every year would be "an unfair tax", Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said yesterday.
Ms Hanafin said the idea of a property tax to replace stamp duty, as proposed by the National Economic and Social Council, had not been considered by the Government. In a report published on Thursday, the council said the Commission on Taxation should examine the possibility of replacing stamp duties with a more sustainable and equitable form of property tax.
The council is made up of representatives of the Government and the social partners, as well as independent experts, and issues reports every three years on economic and social issues.
The reports are a key input to the negotiation of the partnership programmes.
In its report this week it said it may be possible "to design a system of property tax which yields a less volatile revenue stream than stamp duties, which better supports an active housing market and high-quality physical planning and which is more consistent with Ireland's goal of relying on the creation of high-value goods and services in high-participation society".
Ms Hanafin said that in the past a property tax had been seen as inequitable, as it was just based on the value of a house and did not consider the ability of the person involved to pay.
The Minister said that the Commission on Taxation would consider recommendations made to it. However, she said that it was up to the commission to make proposals to the Government.
"Residential stamp duty is quite a small part of the overall stamp duty take in the Department of Finance. It is a burden for people buying property, but it only happens at that time.
"Personally, I believe that a property tax on the family home which people would have to pay every year would be an unfair tax," she said.
Fine Gael's environment spokesman Phil Hogan said that a property tax was not on its agenda.However, he said Fine Gael had long believed that stamp duty was a very unfair tax and had proposed amendments to it.
"We still think there is scope for further cuts in stamp duty through closing off a loophole which helps developers and landowners."