Owners of mobile homes may escape tax

THE PROPOSED €200 tax on mobile homes is open to amendment, a spokesman for the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, indicated last night.

The tax on second residences, as set out in the Local Government (Charges) Bill 2009, is due to be applicable to all non-principal second residences, including mobile homes and to be implemented from the end of July.

It came in for heavy criticism from mobile-home owners yesterday.

The Minister’s spokesman said last night the Bill has not yet been enacted and was due to be debated in the Seanad tomorrow.

“The Minister is taking on board all issues in relation to mobile homes and will be open to amendments in the context of equity and fairness,” he said.

According to the Bill, an annual charge must now be paid by owners of second properties “in respect of each such property concerned to the local authority in whose area the residential property is situated”.

The Bill says such properties include “a mobile home that is kept in one place and that is attached, whether temporarily or not, to land, or placed on a foundation or otherwise supported on land, and, for the avoidance of doubt, does not include a vehicle.”

There are an estimated 20,000 mobile homes throughout the State.

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said the annual charge would be collected from July 31st, and would be collected by local authorities.

Kevin Foley, chairman of the Irish Mobile Home Owners Association, said he was “totally against” the tax for mobile homes. “There are thousands of these in the country. These are people [owners] who stay at home. The tourist board is advocating people stay at home and spend their money at home. We spend all our money locally.”

He said his organisation had been “under the impression” the tax only applied to second homes, which were stationary buildings.

Holiday homes were different to mobile homes as the former were often let out to people by the owners, while mobile homes could not be sub-let. They did not generate an income for the owners.

His family had had a mobile home in Ardmore, Co Waterford for 28 years, he said. He also predicted many owners would get rid of their mobile homes, given most already paid up to €2,000 per year in rent.

Among many mobile home owners who contacted the RTÉ radio programme Livelineyesterday was Alan, who said there should not be a levy on mobile homes as such homes did not gain value. His family had a mobile home in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo and they did not have access to the site where it is grounded between November and the following Easter, he said.

Dublin City Labour Party Councillor Dermot Lacey, who has a mobile home in Co Wexford, said the party supported the measure. “The principle is that you should pay some money to the local council.”

However, the Labour Party later issued a statement saying the tax on mobile homes “should be reversed”.

“Labour will be opposing the measure,” said the party’s spokesman on local government, Ciarán Lynch. “Whatever the merits of a tax on holiday homes may be, there is no good reason to include mobile homes.

“A mobile home is a holiday home, only insofar as it is a place where families go to enjoy the summer break. It is not some glamorous, high-end investment, worth hundreds of thousands of euro, but is rather, a relatively modest piece of property, enjoyed by families who either through choice or necessity, decide to holiday at home rather than abroad.

“Families already have to pay substantial service charges to site owners, and any further cost represents an unreasonable imposition,” he said.