Campaigners stage household tax protest at TD’s office

CAMPAIGNERS opposed to the household charge stepped up
their campaign recently by protesting outside the office of a Dublin South TD.

About 20 members of the Campaign Against the Household
Tax protested against the introduction of the

?¬100 flat rate charge outside the
constituency office of Deputy Alex White (Lab) on Main Street in Rathfarnham on
Monday, February 20.

The campaigners believe that if a considerable
proportion of the population refuses to pay the charge the Government will be
forced to scrap it.

Nicola Curry, one of the coordinators of the campaign
in Dublin South and a member of the United Left Alliance, noted that some
97,000 households have so far failed to register for the charge.

“If people continue to refuse en masse to
register, we can make this tax uncollectable and unenforceable,

? she said.

“We just want to know how Alex White and the
Labour Party can justify this regressive and unfair tax. How can it be right to
impose more taxes while the proportion of tax paid by the rich has actually
fallen during this recession?”

The Department of the Environment confirmed that up
until 4pm on Thursday, February 23 only 122,211 households had paid the charge
and just over

?¬12 million had been collected.

Over 1.6 million households are liable for the charge
and the Government is expecting to raise around e160 million from the tax,
which householders have until March 31 to pay.

Speaking to Southside People, Deputy White said that
while he believed the implementation of the charge was necessary in the
short-term, he would not support the continued imposition of the tax in its
current form in the longer-term.

“This

?¬100 charge is far from ideal,

? he said.

“It has
been pointed out by the Government that it is an interim charge. I certainly
wouldn’t support the continuation of a flat charge for property.

?

Meanwhile, campaigners against the household charge in
the Dun Laoghaire area have organised a public meeting to plan the next phase
of the local campaign at the Kingston Hotel on Tuesday, February 28.

Cllr Melisa Halpin (PBP) said the local campaign has
held four public meetings in Dun Laoghaire where there had been a

“strong
determination

? to resist the tax.

“Along with every other area of the country, people in
this area are clearly saying no by refusing to register and refusing to pay,

?
she said.

“Nationally 95 per cent of people have not registered
for this tax. We are confident that by the March 31 deadline hundreds of
thousands of people will have refused to register, making this tax
uncollectable.

?

A spokesman at the Department of the Environment said:

“It is unfortunate that public representatives are actively encouraging
householders to break the law, as it is an offence under the legislation not to
register for and pay the household charge. Under the legislation there are
fines and late payment fees for households who don’t register and pay the
charge.

?