Paschal’s landlord tax break makes no sense
I LISTENED to the Finance Minister justify the grant of 100% interest relief on tax for landlords in order to encourage them to enter the housing market.
The following scenario presented itself to me.
A homeless person (Let’s call him John) wants to buy a house. He can afford €240,000 and repay €1,600 monthly. There will be no tax relief on interest payments. A house becomes available for €240,000 but Liam, who is buying to let, purchases it for €260,000.
John cannot match the inflated price and must therefore rent the same house for which he is charged rent of €2,000 monthly. John can not afford €2,000 monthly so he obtains assistance from the State of €400 monthly.
The result is that John is paying the same amount monthly that he would have paid if he had bought the house but gets no tax relief and no security of tenure.
Liam, on the other hand has a house, 100% tax relief on interest repayments and receives an additional €400 monthly from the State as a subsidy to allow John live in the house.
Much has been made of the fact that landlords have been leaving the market. It ignores the fact that houses do not disappear just because a landlord exits the market. They are sold on.
Encouraging landlords to enter the market only increases pressure on house prices and rents and makes purchase more difficult for the homeless. Is the position really as outlined above or am I missing something?
Tom Burke, THE hospitalty sector is up in arms over the increase of VAT. When the VAT rate was reduced, I wonder how many hotels and restaurants reduced their prices accordingly? Not many, I bet.
J. McCourt, GIVEN that she is a member of the party that supported the Provos as they attempted to subvert this State, Liadh Ní Riada should be asked a number of important questions.
1. As president she would be commander in chief of the army of our Republic, so to which Óglaigh Na hÉireann will she pledge her loyalty?
2. Has she ever condemned any atrocities committed by the IRA, including the mutilation of children through knee-capping and punishment beatings or the murder of our soldiers and gardaí?
3.Was she disgusted or even disappointed with the Sinn Féin response to the Mairia Cahill rape and how Mary Lou McDonald handled it?
Pat O’Mahony, ALMOST devoid of debate, we are careering into a referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy, defined in the Defamation Act as a matter intended to be ‘grossly abusive’ to people because of their religion, and which is without artistic or academic merit.
If such abuse happened in a oneon-one context it would be considered bullying; in the context of goods and services, the Equal Status Acts would apply; and if skin colour was involved it would be termed racism.
Voting to allow such abuse is contrary to our society’s values of decency, fairness, and appreciation for the beneficial role religion has played.
We would lose a minimum standard of decency, so vital to allowing free speech.
Our anti-blasphemy law works unobtrusively and ought to be vigorously promoted worldwide. I will be voting No.
Gearóid Duffy, Those who suggest honouring the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) and refer to them as ‘Irish heroes’ (MoS letters, October 7) should recall their history and note that the DMP were a far from popular organisation among the ordinary Dublin workingclass, who, in their fight for decent pay and conditions saw the Metropolitan Police time and
Your Letters, Irish Mail on Sunday, Embassy House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 letters@mailonsunday.ie
time again take the side of the rich and powerful and repeatedly baton-charge workers’ rallies and support strike breakers.
On Bloody Sunday, August 31, 1913, the DMP charged a group of peaceful union members waiting for James Larkin to address them in O’Connell Street (then Sackville Street) and inflicted horrific injuries on both workers and curious onlookers alike.
Over 400 were injured and two innocent men, James Nolan and John Byrne, were beaten to death. British Liberal MP Frederick Handel Booth, who was present, stated that the police ‘behaved like men possessed, wildly striking with their truncheons’. Ernie O’Malley, a future TD, reported seeing women being knocked and kicked on the ground.
Later, Michael Byrne, an ITGWU official from Dún Laoghaire, died after being tortured in a police cell. That night, drunken groups of DMP rampaged in the north inner city, breaking into workers’ homes.
It was largely because of these events that James Connolly and Captain Jack White formed the Irish Citizen Army to protect the ordinary workers against violence from the police.
Kevin P McCarthy,