The law firm McCann Fitzgerald is investigating how its name came to be associated with a document purporting to offer legal "advice" on the Government’s €100 household charge.
Information circulating on the internet, as well as via leaflet drops to householders, claims that if members of the public do not “consent” to the charge that the statute implementing it cannot affect them.
The leaflet, which has the major legal firm’s website address printed on the bottom, is headed: ‘Very interesting note from McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors.’
In a statement on its website, the group confirmed it had learnt that the memorandum/email purporting to come from the firm was currently being distributed in social and other media.
“The memorandum/e-mail is not a McCann FitzGerald document, it has not been prepared by the firm, and it does not express a legal opinion of the firm,” the statement said.
It said it was investigating how its name came to be associated with the document and email.
It also advised media that they should “not distribute, or permit the distribution of” the memorandum or email.
A spokeswoman for McCann Fitzgerald said the firm first learnt of the document when members of the public began telephoning to ask if it was real, after they had seen it on Facebook. She said the company currently had no idea where the information had originated, but was investigating.
A group of TDs and councillors objecting to the tax has distanced itself from the memo.
Campaign Against the Household Charge spokesman Gregor Kerr said the group contacted McCann Fitzgerald after realising the false information had gone viral.
“The campaign is very concerned that people are believing this information,” he said.
“It’s very important that in standing together we will resist this charge, with mass co-operation in the communities. The information in these emails goes against what the campaign stands for.”
Mr Kerr said the memo advised people to simply ignore the charge.
As of earlier this week, more than €10 million had been received from 109,569 households who have paid the €100 charge.
Some 1.6 million households are liable for it and it is expected to raise an estimated €160 million this year. The Government has already committed to replacing it with a property tax.
Additional reporting: PA