Sir, – Irene Allen is surely wrong to suggest that the allowed property tax deferral renders it a fair tax (Letters, December 6th). In fact, it is extraordinary that a State would levy a tax on a citizen it knows and acknowledges cannot afford to pay it.
In addition, Ms Allen must recognise the mental distress caused to a citizen who, having to defer the tax, must live out the autumn of their lives in the knowledge that, as each year passes, the State’s stake in the asset increases, which in turn erodes what is left to pass on to loved ones.
But there can be no doubt at all about the crass unfairness of the tax when it is realised that those who cannot afford to pay are forced to pay an additional 4 per cent. A classic example of the poor being punished for being poor. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.