Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte has said the new Local Property Tax is about as fair as you can get.
Letters are being sent to up to homeowners from today by the Revenue Commissioners detailing how the tax should be paid.
The letters will contain a valuation on the property which can be disputed by the homeowner.
Minister Rabbitte warned people against taking the advice of those advocating a boycott of the tax, and he had this to say when asked if the tax was fair.
Mr Rabbitte said: "I think you could raise that question about a lot of taxes.
"I think there are difficulties no matter which way you went about constructing it, but I think this is about as fair as you can get."
Revenue's new online guide to property values is being criticised for the methodology used in estimating the tax.
The guide, which is available on the website Revenue.ie, comes as Revenue begins distributing letters today about the tax.
On the website, the property's value is based on the average price in the area and the age of the house.
Many observers have said some of the guide's estimates are actually below market value.
Managing Director of MyHome.ie, Angela Keegan said that could depress the market.
Ms Keegan said: "I know I looked at some homes where I would be fairly familiar with their values, and most certainly the Revenue calculation is less.
"I think that really shouldn't surprise us, because they have gone with the electoral district level, and within the electoral zones there is such a wide variation of homes in the semi-detached or detached category."
