065 671 9021
clareecho.ie
editor@clareecho.ie
facebook.com/clareecho
twitter.com/ClareEcho
26 Sep 2019
2019
15pc property tax hike the ‘right decision’
STUART HOLLY
C
editor@clareecho.ie
l CELEBRATION: Tulla Utd U16 players Molly Ellis and
Aoibheann Madden with the CSSL U16 Girls Cup at Frank Healy Park Ennis on Monday night Photo by Arthur Ellis
LARE’S local property tax is to increase by 15 percent after a vote by elected members on Monday. It will be the second hike in the space of four years as a two thirds majority of Clare County Council voted to up the local property tax (LPT) by the maximum. The increase will kick in from next year with households depending on the value of their home paying an additional 20 to 60 cent per week. Clare Echo columnist Eoin Neylon writes this week that despite the negative reaction from the public, the decision to increase the tax by 15 per cent was a “brave move” by our local councillors.
“For the average house owner in Clare, it equates to €27.50 on top of the recommended LPT per annum. The equivalent of five pints in an entire year for those who imbibe. A week’s coffees. A couple of four-line Euromillions lotto ticket, with plus. Just 53 cent per week. Most of us have that in the back of the sofa. “For this, the council can fix more roads, give more children safe playing areas, repair damaged sea walls, put in safe cycling infrastructure, clean more illegal dumping, cut back more overgrown roadside trees, put more street lightning in our villages, invest in local festivals, the arts and cultural pursuits, advertise our county for additional tourism revenue and give more to the many wonderful community and charity groups that make Clare the great county it is.”
Full story Page 10