Irish residential landlords are one of the highest taxed of 22 EU countries, according to the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA), through its involvement with the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI).
Only taking account of basic tax on rental income, Ireland's rates are way above France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Switzerland. Ireland's tax rate is 41% over €32,800. Only Slovenia taxes its landlords more with 41% kicking in at €14,375, but contrast that with Switzerland where an 11.6% higher rate does not kick in unless rental income is over a whopping €614,065, or even Portugal and Spain, where a lot of Irish people maintain second homes, with a 53% rate only applying over €250,000 in Portugal and a 52% rate over €300,000 in Spain.
"These figures show that Irish taxation of private residential landlords is seriously out of kilter with other EU economies," said IPOA Chairman, Stephen Faughnan, "and would appear to suggest that many EU Governments treat the private rental sector as a partner in the provision of accommodation, unlike the Irish Government which not only insists on charging tax on a loss in many cases, but also does not allow 25% of interest paid on a mortgage to be called an expense."
