The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
YOUR local council will be taking more of your money, as your representatives have opted to increase property tax in Clare by the maximum amount possible.
On Monday, councillors increased the property tax by 15%, meaning they will extract the greatest amount of money possible from Clare householders.
Have no doubt, the hit you face would be even greater but it was not legally possible to charge more. Bizarrely, some of those advocating raising the tax said that they were in favour of doing so, as the money collected would be spent in this county. As if the money being demanded from Clare householders was going to be sent elsewhere otherwise; as if the decision will not leave Clare consumers with less to spend in their local villages and towns.
Perhaps the most irritating thing about Monday’s decision to increase the property tax is the detached attitude displayed.
Only an idiot would disagree with Councillor Ann Norton when she said that an awful lot of people are living in difficulty but there was no acknowledgement of that at all when the councillors voted 16-8 for the maximum increase available.
Even if they had gone for a smaller increase, as Kildare and Limerick did, they would have displayed a little empathy but it was not to be and the Clare public will be clobbered as hard as possible.
During the debate, it was clear that the focus was more on the council’s resources and what it could do with extra funds, rather than the overall impact on the people, some of them struggling for years now, who will be left
with less.
For years, Clare businesses were hit with continually-rising rates bills, much to their anger and, on Monday’s evidence, householders are now seen as another handy target.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
