Nothing Is Certain Except Death And Taxes

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) stated in a letter to Jean Baptiste Le Roy on the 13 November 1789, “But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”.

Further clarification as to the truth of this statement appears to be now confirmed with the new imposition of VAT on burials in council cemeteries.

The new tax of 13.5% will push up the cost of acquiring a grave in a local authority cemetery from July 1st. and is a consequence of a European Court of Justice ruling, which is forcing local authorities to apply VAT to a range of services, including our waste collections.

The new “Grave Tax” will add as much as €150 to the cost of the one of the cheaper graves currently on offer and up to €2,000 in the case of a larger grave plot, should you wish to be buried in some of the bigger city cemeteries.
One consoling fact however worth noting, consumers, expecting to die in the near future, may be able to avoid this tax by buying their grave in advance, before July1st of this year.

Cremations and graves in private cemeteries are already taxed at 13.5% VAT, so this EU ruling will not affect their current price structure.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has confirmed that local authority cemeteries will become subject to VAT from July 1st after the passage of the 2010 Finance Bill.