DUBLIN homeowners are facing difficulties and confusion when it comes to valuing their properties for the new Local Property Tax.
Last week’s launch of an online calculator by the Revenue Commissioners to help put a valuation on properties was met with criticism after locals noticed discrepancies on home values on different sides of the same road.
Two-bedroom apartments at a complex on the Finglas Road were valued at between
?¬150,001 and
?¬200,000, while similar two-bed homes in a complex just across the road were valued at between
?¬100,001 and
?¬150,000.
And semi-detached homes on Willow Park Road are valued at between
?¬250,001 and
?¬300,000, or between
?¬200,001 and
?¬250,000 depending on which side of road they’re on.
To add to the confusion, property website Daft.ie published its own online property tax calculator that valued two-bedroom apartments in Finglas at
?¬91,748, while three bedroom semi-detached homes in the area are valued at
?¬153,475 – and both figures are significantly below Revenue’s two valuations.
Rival property website Myhome.ie also launched an online calculator based on prices achieved for homes sold in the area last year. But it puts similar apartments in the same complex on Finglas Road into two different tax bands.
Each of the three calculators use different criteria to value properties but homeowners will have to come up with their own valuations when it comes to paying the controversial tax.
According to Revenue, their calculator is only a guide and the tax requires homeowners to honestly assess the market value of their own individual properties.
Revenue has already begun sending out forms containing an estimate value of properties and homeowners liable for the tax must submit a return by May 7 (or online by May 28) or they will be billed at the estimated value.
Those who don’t file a return face having the money deducted from their pay packet, pension or bank account from July 1. The debt may also be referred to a sheriff or solicitor for collection.
Local councillor Paul McAuliffe criticised Revenue’s online guide, saying it led to local anomalies.
“After a first look of the Finglas, Glasnevin and Ballymun area, there would appear to be a number of examples where Revenue has estimated the price of housing in an electoral district which is not correct,
? he said.
“On one road, for example, the same type of house on different sides of the road are valued completely differently.
“Based on an initial look I suspect there will be a lot of people seeking to vary the valuation made by revenue.
?
The Campaign Against Home & Water Taxes, which last week called for a boycott of the tax returns, also had harsh words for Revenue’s calculator.
“Incredibly the Revenue Commissioners and the Government are trying to cod us that this website gives us a measure of ownership over the process and an aura of fairness,
? said spokesperson Michael O’Brien of the Socialist Party.
“The reality is that people are being asked to have an input into their own fleecing. Furthermore, it appears that the Revenue website is a very blunt instrument indeed, capable only of operating on the basis of average values spanning a handful of categories, spread over wide areas leading to major over and under valuations in many cases.
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