Over the course of February, a statement has been circulating widely on Facebook and other social media sites claiming people can avoid paying the Household Tax and remain within the law “if they do not consent” to the tax.
The statement, which has been circulated by a group called Awaken Waterford reads: “This household charge is a Statute, otherwise known as an Act of Government and only carries the force of law upon you if you consent to it which means that you are legally obliged to pay if you consent or in other words go on and register”.
The group claimed that the above statement actually came from McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors. McCann Fitzgerald have since published a statement completely refuting the statement as untrue and having not come from them.
Apart from misleading people about the potential consequences of their actions this email promotes passivity when activity is necessary.
If this austerity tax is to be defeated, it will require hundreds of thousands of people not only to boycott it, but also the building of a mass active campaign that reaches into every community in the country. This is precisely what the Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes is doing and will continue to do so.