Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has said that the confirmation from government to Sinn Féin that letters to all households eligible for the Family Home Tax will be issued on the week beginning the 11thth March shows how ‘out-of-touch with reality’ the government is.
Speaking today Deputy Doherty said: “This week 70,000 homeowners heard that the AIB will be increasing their variable mortgage interest rates. This comes at a time when one in four mortgages are in distress.
“The last thing the 180,000 mortgage holders in distress need is another letter bearing unsustainable demands. For the 1.8 million people left with €100 or less at the end of the month after essential bills are paid this will be the tipping point.
“That letter from Revenue to householders will only add financial stress and hardship to families across the state. There is no sense in taxing the family home.
“Sinn Féin has proposed a genuine wealth tax on assets over €1m. This would bring in at least as much as this family home tax but would be targeted at those who can afford it. The government’s tax on the other hand will push many more into mortgage distress and dampen the domestic economy.
“Sinn Féin will launch a bill which would repeal the Family Home Tax. We are calling on all parties to reflect on what receiving the letter on the week of the 11th of March will mean for working people and to lend their support to our repeal bill before it’s too late. The reality of this unfair tax is now dawning on people who have already shouldered austerity budget after austerity budget.
“Once again we see a government acting in haste to implement measures that are ill-thought out and damaging to the interests of the country and economy. Once again we see a government out-of-touch with the impact of their policies on the ground in rural and urban Ireland.”