Hi °C | Lo °C THE Government has been urged to explain how it plans to spend the money raised by the property tax.
Some 1.6 million people will receive letters next month outlining the details of the levy, with an estimated valuation of their house.
Martin Phelan, president of the Irish Tax Institute, said that if the Government was to publish each year what the tax is being used for, it might "soften the hissing in this area".
"As we ask taxpayers to stretch themselves further for the good of the country and the economy, it is only right that they feel they are getting value for money and that there is accountability for their contribution to the tax take," Mr Phelan said.
"There is not only a tipping point in terms of how much tax we can collect before damaging an economy, there is also a tipping point beyond which you lose the collective goodwill of the taxpayer to support their country and the cost of its services."
Mr Phelan told the institute's annual dinner that people equate their payment of taxation to what they receive or perceive that they receive in return.
"When the public notices a direct return, they are happier to pay, with consumption taxes then easier to push through," he said.
"The problem with other forms of taxation is that there is no instant return for the payment of the tax."
Mr Phelan also warned that Ireland cannot have a two-tier economy, with the domestic economy languishing "in the shadow of our multinationals".
Irish Independent
