Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2012
465. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the proposed property tax will be collected and spent locally by local authorities, or if it will be collected by the central Exchequer and then redistributed to local authorities. [52949/12]
View answer466. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way he plans to deal with the inequalities in revenues that will accrue to local authorities from the proposed property tax, in view of large differences in average home values in different local authority areas. [52950/12]
View answer467. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in the context of the proposed property tax which will be the primary source of revenue for local authorities, the extent to which central Government will provide supplementary funding for local authorities whose budgets are in a deficit situation. [52959/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 465 to 467, inclusive, together.
The EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland contains a commitment to introduce a property tax for 2012. The Programme reflects the need, in the context of the State's overall financial position, to put the funding of locally-delivered services on a sound financial footing, improve accountability and better align the cost of providing services with the demand for such services. It was considered that, in light of the complex issues involved, a local property tax would take time to introduce and accordingly to meet the requirements in the EU/IMF Programme, the Government decided to introduce a household charge in 2012 as an interim measure. This was done via the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011.
An appropriate broadening of the revenue base for local government will be achieved through the household charge and the forthcoming full local property tax. Income from the household charge and from a future local property tax is critical in ensuring that local authorities have the necessary resources to continue to deliver services to their communities.
An independently-chaired Inter-Departmental Expert Group was established earlier this year to consider the structures and modalities for an equitable Local Property Tax to replace the Household Charge. The Group submitted its report and proposals will be brought to Government which will decide on the exact details of implementation .
The Government has decided that the Local Property Tax will be collected and administered by the Revenue Commissioners.
