Campaign against household taxes respond to Andrew Doyle interview
Campaign Against Household & Water Taxes (Wicklow) respond to Andrew Doyle TD's claim that council tenants will pay fully fledged property tax
Campaign readies itself to respond to mass issuing of threatening letters to Household Tax non-payers
Responding to the interview given by Wicklow Fine Gael TD Andrew Doyle on Declan Meehan's radio show on East Coast FM where he indicated that Council tenants alongside all other householders would be required to pay the fully fledged property tax which is due to replace the household tax next year Michael O'Brien from the Kilcoole branch of the campaign said:
"Deputy Doyle's revalation on Tuesday confirms a key message our campaign has tried to hammer home to householders that the €100 household tax was the thin end of the wedge. We have explained all along that the property tax that is due to replace it alongside the water tax would lead, if unopposed, to bills of €1,000 plus by 2014. Likewise we have pointed out that categories of householders exempt this year from the household tax would likely be roped in by the property tax and the water charges.
"Deputy Doyle's confirmation of this will cause dismay amongst unemployed and low and middle income householders in council rented accommodation. However we are confident that it will bring many of them into active involvement in the campaign across Wicklow."
Niamh McDonald from Bray added:
"The campaign has been already going door to door with a newsletter preparing people for the threatening letters we have been told to expect in the coming weeks. Our message is straightfoward, if the 50% non payers stick together that is an unmanagable level of civil disobedience for the establishment. The threatening letters have thus far only gone out to owners of non-primary residences. When the letters go out more extensively to non-payers we will quickly move to hold public meetings across County Wicklow where detailed information will be available and people will be encouraged to get actively involved in the campaign."
Sean Doyle from Kilpedder said:
"The door to door work the campaign we have done in Kilcoole and elsewhere has thought us that even among those who did pay, the vast majority done so under duress because of the bullying approach of Minister Hogan. Many are adament that the cannot and will not pay the property and water taxes and our message to them is that they are welcome into the fold of the boycott campaign.
"The likely delay in the introduction of the property tax next year is a testament to the resovle of hundreds of thousands of householders. At the end of the day ordinary people organised in huge numbers can exert a bigger pressure on the political establishment than the EU/IMF/ECB troika."
