Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

This amendment seeks to provide that account be taken of any outstanding liabilities. In other words, where a property is valued at ¤100,000, on which the mortgage is ¤90,000, the remaining ¤10,000 will be the amount on which property tax liability will be based, which sounds straightforward. However, there are many properties worth ¤2 million to ¤3 million, on which the mortgages are large but the owners of which are earning ¤500,000 per annum. In most cases, negative equity bears no relation to the person who occupies a house. I believe rich people rather than people on modest incomes would benefit were this amendment accepted. Where a person owns a house worth ¤2 million, on which the mortgage is ¤2 million, that does not mean that person is badly off rather it means he or she made a bad purchase choice. Such a person could be earning ¤1 million per annum. I do not believe we should exempt people from this tax just because they have a large mortgage, even though it would be deserving in particular cases. I do not believe this would be a good move as it would benefit those who are well off, leaving others to cover that loss.