660,306 Households Boycott Charge

Over half a million households continue to boycott the household charge. Householders are both annoyed at that role out of the charge and the charge itself. The charge is a €100 annual tax on property owners, which was introduced in the last budget. Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) said today that a formal project group was established between a number of government agencies to determine who are continuing to boycott this charge.

Budget 2012 cut local authority central local government funding and the Household charge was to replace some of that cut the rest would have to be made up of cuts to local services.

Local facilities such as Libraries, Public Parks, Open Spaces and Leisure Amenities, planning and development, fire and emergency services, maintenance and cleaning of streets and street lighting were paid by local authorities out of national government taxes provided to them by the centralised Department of Local Government.

Paul McSweeney, CEO of LGMA is appealing to householders to pay the Household charge as soon as possible saying "This money is critical to fund essential local services ......... facilities that benefit everyone in the community".

The campaign against the household charge have stated "Registration figures represent properties, not people. The increase since June is solely related to multiple properties owned by the same people."


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