Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for outlining the rationale behind this amendment. I understand his point and his argument that if an estate has not been taken into charge and that leads to the local environment there not being of the same quality as in the estate beside it that has been taken into charge, then that should be reflected in the local property tax bill of the person in the estate that it is not in charge. I understand that argument and why he proposed this amendment. The reason I am not in a position to accept the amendment or make this change in the local property tax is that it is an important principle that everybody's tax be collected in the same way. While lots of people have issues and disagree with the principle of the local property tax, it is clear and simple. The main factor in calculating your local property tax bill is the value of your home. I do not want to introduce any further exemptions or changes to it because I am concerned that if we begin do that, it will weaken the clarity and simplicity of the tax over time. In turn, that could lead to issues in how much tax and revenue it brings in in the years ahead. While I understand the Deputy's point, for those reasons, I must differ with him on this occasion.

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