Daft Property - Irish Property News

Property tax on way within year... 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 201

HOMEOWNERS face paying an €80-a-month property tax under a plan drawn up by the country's top economic think-tank. The charge would be based on the value of homes, and middle-income earners would end up providing most of the tax generated, the study by the Economic and Social Research Institute says. Homeowners who bought their house and paid stamp duty in recent years would be given a waiver, as they would be regarded as having already paid a property tax. Those on low incomes and people getting social welfare benefits would be exempted from the payment. Even with these exemptions, a property tax could still bring in close to €1bn a year, as the Government draws up plans for a €15bn package of cuts and taxes over the next four years. There are 1.7 million households in the country, but the exemption scheme would mean up to 235,000 householders would not have to pay the tax, the ESRI says. But the study, which sets out how a property tax would work, warns that exempting those with