Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
181. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures or criteria she intends to use to ensure that basic living standards of social welfare are protected from any deductions in relation to the new property tax. [3914/13]
View answerThe Government has decided that the Revenue Commissioners will have responsibility for the collection of the local property tax. For easy pay purposes, a person in receipt of certain scheme payments from the Department of Social Protection can choose to select the deduction at source facility in relation to their payment of local property tax. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides that any deductions at source from social protection scheme payments in relation to the local property tax will not breach the statutory minimum income guarantee embedded in the social welfare code, i.e. Supplementary Welfare Allowance (which is currently set at €186 per week).
The Department expects that this facility will be utilised in a reduced number of cases as the person must be a property owner and liable for the tax. Most liable Social Protection customers will be able to avail of deferral arrangements as their income would not exceed the deferral thresholds of €15,000, or €25,000 in the case of a couple. Other Social Protection customers in accommodation provided by local authorities and social housing organisations will not be liable for the property tax. For those liable persons with other income sources the Department expects that these income sources would be prioritized in the first instance by both the customer and the Revenue Commissioners. This will limit the number of Social Protection customers who are liable for the local property tax and where a deduction at source will apply.
