Property tax on way within year
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THE Government has been ordered by the EU/IMF to impose a property tax on all homeowners within a year.
The controversial annual tax is expected to be announced in December's Budget -- even though it was not in the Programme for Government.
The imposition of the tax and the precise timeline for its roll-out are key requirements for Ireland to avail of the EU/IMF €85bn bailout package.
And the Department of the Environment confirmed that the tax will rise within a year of being introduced.
Details of how and when the so-called 'site-valuation tax' will be introduced and increased are in a briefing note prepared by civil servants for Environment Minister Phil Hogan. The document has been obtained by the Irish Independent.
Under the heading "EU/IMF requirements", the document states that Ireland must "adopt a property tax by end Q4 (quarter 4) 2011", adding that this tax must then be increased by the end of 2012.
The Fine Gael/Labour Programme for Government said only that such a tax would be "considered".
Irish Independent
