Minister Donohoe announces review of the Local Property Tax

16th January, 2018

The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD briefed his government colleagues today (Tuesday) on the review of the Local Property Tax (LPT) his Department will be advancing during 2018. The review will include a consultation process to enable all interested parties and individuals to submit their views on the future of the LPT.

 

The review will start in February and will look in particular at the impact on LPT liabilities of property price developments. It will include an examination of the outstanding recommendations of the 2015 Thornhill review of the Local Property Tax. The review will be conducted by a cross-departmental group, chaired by the Department of Finance and will comprise the Revenue Commissioners and the Departments of Public Expenditure & Reform and Housing, Planning & Local Government. It is expected that the review will be completed at the end of August and that the group will provide a number of policy choices for consideration. 

 

The purpose of the review will be to inform the Minister in relation to any actions he may recommend to Government concerning the overall yield from LPT and its contribution to total tax revenue. The review will be informed by the desirability of achieving relative stability, both over the short and longer terms, in LPT payments of liable persons.

 

Commenting on the current review Minister Donohoe said: “Even though it would be 2020 before LPT liabilities would be affected by any property revaluations, it is important that the Government is able to make its position clear in relation to LPT in a timely way so that households will be aware of its plans for the tax in advance of the November 2019 revaluation date and the associated 2020 and beyond LPT liabilities. The current review of the LPT will be informed by the principle of achieving relative stability in the LPT payments of those liable for the tax and provide clear direction on the likely payments faced by households in 2020.”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors:

Following a review of the LPT in 2015 by Dr Don Thornhill the previous Minister for Finance proposed to Government that the revaluation date for the LPT be postponed from 1st November 2016 to 1st November 2019. This postponement meant that home owners continued to have their homes valued for LPT purposes on the basis of their 1st May 2013 declared valuation and so were not faced with significant increases in their LPT in 2017 and 2018 and 2019 as a result of increased property values. Absent any change in the LPT legislation, the valuations of properties on 1st November 2019 will be the basis for calculating LPT liabilities in 2020 and beyond.

 

The valuation date is the date on which property owners are required to establish the market value of their properties. These market values form the basis for calculation of property owners’ LPT liabilities. Section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2015 amended section 13 of the Principal LPT Act to retain the valuation date of 1 May 2013 for an additional three years up to and including the year 2019.  The 2015 Act provides for the next valuation date to be 1st November 2019 instead of 1st November 2016. This postponement resulted in property owners not having to face significant increases in relation to their local property tax liabilities in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a result of increased property values since May 2013.