TAXING Kerry’s self-catering holiday homes will devastate the tourism industry in the county, Kerry TD Jimmy Deenihan has warned.
The new ¤200 charge on self-catering holiday homes, contained in the govern-ment’s new local government legislation, will result in owners paying a double tax and will cause serious damage to Ireland’s tourist industry, he insisted.
"Owners of self-catering holiday homes already pay a registration fee to Fáilte Ireland which requires that their properties meet the required high standards and ensures the industry is subject to some level of regulation," the North Kerry TD stated.
All 380 registered Kerry holiday cottages should be exempt from second home tax, he maintained.
The imposition of another tax on self-catering holiday cottages is another blow to Kerry tourism which is already in crisis for 2009, he added.
"Tourism in Kerry is already reeling and this tax will make a bad situation worse. To add insult to injury, levying the second home tax on self-catering homes will end up losing cash for the Exchequer and represents another attack on a collapsing tourism sector," Deputy Deenihan told The Kingdom.
He and his Fine Gael colleagues put forward an amendment to exempt the homes from being levied with the second home tax.
However, the government and the minister responsible refused to accept it and voted to tax the homes.
"Kerry tourism is suffering. The sector is already down 30 per cent and the idea that by hiking up charges will do anything to stimulate the sector is laughable," said Deputy Deenihan.
He pointed out that the owners of self-catering holiday cottages are already paying local charges, including a total of ¤639 in a variety of local charges; ¤200 for a BER Certificate this year and ¤200 to Fáilte Ireland to register the properties.
"On top of that, VAT, tax and corporation tax have to be paid to the Exchequer. Many running holiday cottages are on a knife-edge.
Why push them over the edge with a tax that will actually see less, not more, money for the Exchequer?" asked Deputy Deenihan.
"This is an extremely shot-sighted proposal on the part of the government and I urge them to withdraw the measure."
"We need to see demand for Kerry tourism stimulated. This will not happen by raising the already high cost of holidaying here. Registered and listed self-catering holiday cottages should be exempt from the second home tax," he said.
