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Protesting licence fee amounts?

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  • 05-04-2007 1:12pm
    #1
    Sparks
    Registered Users Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭


    Folks,
    Is there any legal mechanism in Ireland to challange the amount charged for a licence?


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    #2
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    What kind of licence?


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    #3
    Bogger77
    Registered Users Posts: 1,857 ✭✭✭Bogger77


    With Sparks, it's bound to be firearms


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    #4
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,966 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    one of the new ones for a public demonstration ?


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    #5
    Sparks
    Registered Users Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    No, the firearms licence fees. They were put up by 50% in the finance bill 2007 without warning or explanation.


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    #6
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Capt'n Midnight wrote:
    one of the new ones for a public demonstration ?

    I thought those proposals were dropped a few years back. Have they brough them in now?


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    #7
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Sparks wrote:
    No, the firearms licence fees. They were put up by 50% in the finance bill 2007 without warning or explanation.

    I think the courts are generally reluctant to interfere with financial matters. This is because the court's attitude is that the executive knows best how to administer taxes, fees etc. So unless there is a substantial interference with a competiting constitutional right, such as equality, I don't think there is any real challenge.

    However, if you were in the US, where owning a gun is a constitutional right, you might have a good case.

    Bear in mind that a bill doesn't become law until it is enacted, so why not make a complaint to your TD? If it is a farmers' issue, I'm sure the current government will be amenable to your suggestions.


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    #8
    Sparks
    Registered Users Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    The finance bill was passed a fortnight or so ago I'm afraid js, so that's not an option open to us.

    Would the argument that it was an unequal tax on sport hold merit? For example, olympic clay pigeon shooters now pay about €1055 less than olympic rifle shooters in range licences and firearms licences because the Minister held that shooting clay pigeons is not shooting targets.


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    #9
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Probably not. It's more race/gender/marital status equality that the courts are concerned with. If it could be shown that clay pigeon shooting was an exclusively male sport as opposed to range shooting being exclusively female, there might be an indirect discrimination case, but it would be fairly difficult to prove it.

    This is the type of thing that might be considered unfair, but the courts generally consider that the government is entitled to make such unfair measures for a social good (e.g. lower taxes on unleaded petrol, s23 tax relief in certain areas). While there may not be any obvious social good in defining clay pigeon shooting differently to range shooting, the courts generally don't get involved (as they consider the legislature to embody the will of the people more than they do).

    Best bet is probably political lobbying, rather than legal action. It doesn't seem to be enacted yet, so maybe the seanad will amend it :D .


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