A propaganda campaign is being waged by the government to disguise the level of non-registration for the Household Tax.
There are two lies being told. Firstly, the government is deliberately minimising the number of properties that must register. Willingly aided by most media, the spin is that 1.6 million must register for the charge and that a majority have done so. This is not true.
Census 2011 – the most reliable measure there is – shows 1,994,845 units of housing in the state. When exemptions are taken out, 1.81 million properties must register and 1.76 million are liable to pay it. If you work off the government’s figures, then obviously the non-registration rate would be lower.
The second deception is around the number of actual homeowners who have registered, rather than properties.
In a Dáil answer to Clare Daly TD, 915,408 properties had paid, with 17,167 waivers. On their own, those figures show a powerful boycott level of about 900,000. However, when the detail of the properties is shown, it boosts the boycott figure even more.
Owners of multiple properties and landlords make up 332,900 of those registrations (or 14%.) When these are excluded, the stats for registration by actual HOMEOWNERS looks like this: registered 706,007; not registered 763,249.
This confirms that 52% of owners have not paid the household charge. This should be publicised widely by campaign groups.
A clear majority of home owners are supporting the CAHWT’s boycott call. This has even been acknowledged by the troika in their comments to government.
Let’s ensure as high a level as possible is maintained when the government piles on the threats in the summer or autumn.
