Threats won’t break Household Tax Boycott – Gaughan

A spokesperson for the Loc Garman Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT) has said that the threat of legal action against the hundreds of thousands of people who have not paid the household charge will not break the boycott against the controversial tax. Ferns fire-fighter Dominic Gaughan also condemned the veiled government threats to curtail basic local services in a futile attempt to turn public opinion against the protestors.

“The threat of legal action against hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have not paid the household charge illustrates perfectly what an absolute failure this tax has been,” Mr Gaughan said. “Phil Hogan’s Local Government Management Agency is now trying to frighten people into paying the tax by issuing further warning letters containing the threat of legal action. We all know the government is incapable of taking this many people to court.”

“Last week the Local Government Management Agency took an even darker stance when they declared that basic local services would be curtailed unless revenue from the household tax increased. They said that services such as street lighting, public parks, mobile libraries and community run sports centres will be lost as a result of funding cuts brought about by the failure of so many people to pay the household tax.”

“Have they forgotten that it was Minister Hogan who cut funding to local government and not household tax protestors? Have they forgotten that it was Minister Hogan who made the decision to pay off unsecured bondholders with funding that was earmarked for local services and not the household tax protestors? This is a futile government attempt to turn public opinion against the protestors.”

“These scare tactics have failed in the past, and they will fail now. The boycott will not be broken until the government comes to its senses and abolishes this unfair tax once and for all. They need to replace it with a fair taxation strategy which shall ensure that those on higher incomes pay their proper share and that real wealth is taxed.”