Clarity sought on property tax for council tenants

THE Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Phil Hogan, has been asked to clarify if council tenants are liable to pay part or all of the property tax.

According to Independent Dun Laoghaire councilor Victor Boyhan, there is huge confusion among council tenants about the issue.

“Council officials and councillors across the country are operating in a vacuum,

? he claimed.

“There is no direction coming from the Department of the Environment and Local Government on this contentious issue.”

He added: “The council is unsure if they can legally pass on this tax to tenants. Council tenants argue that the home they live in belongs to the council and therefore the council, as landlord, is liable to pay the tax.”

Cllr Boyhan said the council has filed returns with the Revenue for local authority housing stock in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area and payment of the LPT will have to be made before the end of 2013.

He also criticised the Government for reneging on its promise to householders that 80 per cent of their property tax would be available to councils to fund local services in 2014.

“The decision to withhold 100 per cent of the LPT directly contradicts the Government’s promise to homeowners who paid their tax to provide local services to their local communities,” he stated.

Mr Boyhan described the property tax as

“grossly unfair

? and predicted that it would become the most contentious issue in the run up to the 2014 Local Elections.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment said the matter has been raised and discussed with the Department through the County and City Managers’ Association Finance Committee.

“The Department is engaging with the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners through the existing structure of the Inter Departmental Group on Property Tax on this issue with the intention of having a meeting of relevant officials from housing and local government divisions of this Department, the CCMA, Revenue and Department of Finance,

? he said.

The spokesman also told Southside People that the local government funding model will change considerably in 2014.

“Under the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, commencing in 2014 the Minister for Finance will pay into the Local Government Fund an amount equivalent to the Local Property Tax paid into the Central Fund during that year,

? he stated.

“This revenue will be allocated to local authorities from the fund. In addition, the establishment of Irish Water and its financial relationship with the local government sector will have a considerable impact on local authority financing.

“The Government has indicated an intention to move to 80 per cent retention of all Local Property Tax receipts within the local authority area where the tax is raised. The establishment of Irish Water presents local government with significant organisational and financial challenges in 2014 and, in this context, it has been necessary to defer defining a certain proportion of the proceeds of the Local Property Tax to be retained in each local authority until 2015.

“This approach allows maximum flexibility in allocating Local Property Tax in 2014 with the priority to support those local authorities with weaker funding bases. The 2014 Local Government Fund General Purpose Grants will be announced in due course.

?