A government backbencher is indicating that council tenants will be asked to pay property tax.

A value-based tax is to be introduced next year.

The Finance Minister said yesterday however that no decision had yet been made on the details of the new tax.

It follows reports at the weekend that the government has told the Troika that it will introduce a ‘value-based’ tax next year.

However it is not clear if the value will be determined by the site or the property.

Yesterday Sinn Féin urged the government to abandon the plans for a property tax and introduce a wealth tax instead.

The party says people should only pay tax on assets totaling more than €1 million.

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty says neither a value nor site-based tax is fair.

“Whether it’s on a valued tax ”“ it could be somebody living close to the city centre of Dublin, that the property would be valued at a high level ”“ that that person may have lost their job, that their wife may have lost their job” he said.

“Or you could have the other situation for somebody living in rural Ireland if it’s a site-valued tax”.

“(They) could have the family home with a couple of acres and be in the same situation”.

“It is a flawed premise ”“ it needs to be based on the ability to pay” he added.

style="color: #0000ff;"> href="https://www.facebook.com/newstalkfm">Newstalk Facebook  -Your say:

href="https://www.facebook.com/niall.moonan">Niall Moonan Yes

href="https://www.facebook.com/sarah.j.brennan.3">Sarah Jane Brennan If one is paying rent to a local authority, the effective landlord of such properties – or relative council body – should be entirely liable for such charges. Hopefully this proposition will remain firmly on the fringes of FG’s ever-frustrating rhetoric because it’s illogical, and stringently unjust.

href="https://www.facebook.com/brianof">Brian O’Flaherty Without knowing more about the proposal, on the face of it, it is disgusting. The deed holder would be the state and that’s why they want someone else to pay.

href="https://www.facebook.com/jsdwarner">Jay Warner Yes. Just because someone manages to get a council house and only has to pay a fraction in rent compared to private tenants and mortgage holders. It doesn’t mean they can’t afford to pay. Certainly not judging by the value of the cars sitting outside a lot of them. It should be based on ability to pay and services available in the local area. People living in towns and cities have far more services than those available in rural areas so should pay more if the government is to be believed that this is what this tax is for in the first place.

href="https://www.facebook.com/martinsmithcobh">Martin Smith If the local authorities rented accommodation is to come under the Property tax then so should the legislation to protect the tenants of those local authority houses. Privately rented accommodation has a much more stringent set of rules than local authority housing, Which appears to be a set of guidelines as apposed to a set of rules (in Law), a typical case of do what I say and not what I do.
/> I have seen certain local authority housing which is unfit for renting under the private landlord scheme. Leaking roofs, Leaking windows, missing render and many other things. Which certain councils seem to deem acceptable because they are renting those properties. Something which would never be acceptable from a private landlord.
/> So if the property tax is to be extended to local authority housing, so should the mechanism set in place to protect the people renting those houses, which is in place protecting privately rented accommodation.

href="https://www.facebook.com/davidgreygreen">David Grey Why can they not just bring in a fair rates system that covers bin charges etc! They could put the bins out to tender & surely save €100 per head with the volume of customers!
/> This would mean illegal dumping would be severely curtailed & people would not be paying any more!
/> Politicians are such brain dead morons!!

href="https://www.facebook.com/terry.leahy.7">Terry Leahy charge EVERY1 a set fee per year to cover water, rubbish etc….. but it has to be every1 not just the working fools……

href="https://www.facebook.com/thomasmartin.oconnor.1">Thomas Martin O’Connor people who rent local authority housing in the UK still have to pay Council tax (property tax or rates); they use the services just the same and are often in a better position to pay than many private tenants. Just because you rent a LA house should not mean an automatic exemption. It’s not fair on private tenants and homeowners make it equal for everyone and yes take in refuse collection too, Ireland is filling up with dumped litter.

href="https://www.facebook.com/terry.leahy.7">Terry Leahy I for 1 am sick to the back teeth of paying for everything through the nose whilst the free loaders(I referring now to the lifers on the dole not the people who lost their jobs) get waivers for this and that…. I’m giving up our house handing it back have giving close on 80,000 in last 4 years and its all interest only payment .while a family living in the same estate pay 500 a months (of which I’m sure they are also getting rent allowance on) live the life of reilly with 2 cars outside the door and head off to the pub 2/3 nights a week when all we can afford is 4/5 days shopping and hope we make it last the week….f**k the system it only works if your mega rich or your give the perception your broke…I hope I never met a td because my next home shall be behind bars……..

href="https://www.facebook.com/colin.evans.50">Colin Evans As far as I know one of the Sinn Fein TD’S lives in a council house in Dublin .He’s on around €80000 a year .Don’t tell me he shouldn’t pay the tax .

href="https://www.facebook.com/fergus.bourke1">Fergus Bourke Yes. Of course.