Water tax is unjust and regressive
This is a statement that I have sent to all national and local media contacts that I have:
“The claim from the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan T.D. that the introduction of a water tax will be a conservation measure rather than a revenue generating measure is completely false. If the government was serious about water conservation they could for example immediately introduce legislation requiring households that wish to water their gardens in the summer to use water from rain water harvesting rather than treated piped water.”
“The imposition of a water tax is grossly unfair and regressive because families on low and middle incomes will be hit disproportionately much harder than high income households. Even if metering is introduced it will effectively be a flat rate revenue generating tax. This proposal will increase income inequality and in taxation terms represents yet another transfer of wealth and resources from those with the least to the richest in Irish society. Currently each taxpayer contributes progressively proportionate to their income to the cost of treated water provision. This measure will abolish this progressive funding mechanism through general taxation in favour of a highly regressive water tax.”
“The suggestion that there will be reasonable allocation which will ensure that households don’t have to pay if they conserve water is a myth. The government is not going to all the trouble of installing water meters, setting up a national water company and introducing billing without the clear intention of generating significant revenue. When bin taxes were first introduced we were told that if we recycled we wouldn’t face charges. Now even households who recycle and compost heavily are faced with flat rate charges. The same will occur with water.”
“I am in favour of much needed investment in our water infrastructure, however this must be funded fairly through progressive taxation. The last time Labour and Fine Gael were in government in the mid nineties they were forced to scrap water taxes after a mass campaign of non payment. I am calling on people to defeat this unjust tax by engaging in a mass campaign of non payment and non-co-operation.”
Good on you Cian.