The Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes say they are happy that the mass boycott of registration for the controversial household charge is on course.
The latest figures released by the government show just over 68,000 registered for the charge in the first month of the year. That has brought in around €6.8 million but is a huge way off the target €160 million.
The Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes say that if current trends continue then just 12% would have registered by the March 31st deadline and they insist even if it doubled between now and then, some 76% of people would still not have paid.
The group claim that the figures highlight the overwhelming opposition to the household charge shown in attendances at CAHWT meetings. People have been coming to the public meetings held by the campaign in droves: 500 in Cork, 400 in Enniscorthy, 350 in Limerick, 350 in Clonmel, 300 West Donegal, 250 in Kilkenny and thousands at localised meetings across Dublin.
The message of the campaigners is ordinary people are angry at the latest government tax hike, and are determined to resist the attempts to force them to pay the debts of bankers and developers.
The government claims this tax is to fund local services but CAHWT say people are not fooled by this.
This week the Campaign will be stepping up a gear, holding meetings in Leitrim, Kildare, Mayo, Monaghan and Roscommon and more organised for next week. 250,000 newsletters are being distributed door-to-door, and a protest is planned to coincide with a motion on Dublin City Council next Monday evening.
A spokesperson for the campaign group said: "CAHWT are confident this tax can and will be beaten. The Irish people see this as their one real chance to send a message about the ongoing austerity. Non-payment and non-registration are the only effective means to beat the tax. By St Patrick’s Day, the campaign could potentially have hundreds of thousands refusing to register, making the tax unworkable."
