Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For many older people this will become a tax from beyond the grave - a tax on a home they have spent an entire lifetime to secure. On their death, instead of being safe in the knowledge that the home will pass to a loved one, the taxman will be first in the queue to take a slice of the value of their home. The deferral the Minister has announced today will be subject to an indexation per annum. So for every year that somebody on the State pension defers payment of the property tax it will increase by 4% per year. It is a major concern for older people to have coming to the end of their lives that they will have to pay such a punitive tax.

I have serious concerns about how the self-assessment system will work. How are people to know what their property is worth today? What will the penalties be if they get it wrong? The Minister referred to people getting a valuation on their property. Is he encouraging them to spend a further €100 or more every year to have a valuation done on their property so that they can ensure they remain within the law? The Minister has estimated a yield in a full year of €500 million. According to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and its Minister, Deputy Hogan-----

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