I propose to take Questions Nos. 201, 268 and 269 together.
Section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides that local authorities will be liable to pay the Local Property Tax (LPT) on their properties in the same way as any other residential property owner, unless the properties in question are used to accommodate people with special housing needs such as the elderly or people with disabilities. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that residential properties purchased under the various local authority shared ownership schemes will also be subject to LPT and that the liable person in these instances will be the purchaser. This is on the basis that, under these schemes, the purchaser acquires a leasehold interest in the property for a period that exceeds 20 years. Such a purchaser is in the same position as a property owner who purchases a residential property with a mortgage from a financial institution. Accordingly, there is no reason such an individual should not be liable for payment of the LPT on the property. As in the case of any other liable person, the LPT is based on the "chargeable value" of the property, which is the price the unencumbered fee simple of the property might reasonably be expected to fetch on a sale in the open market were that property to be sold on the valuation date in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the best price for the property. As LPT is a self-assessed tax, it is a matter for the purchaser of the property under the shared ownership scheme to determine the appropriate valuation band for their residential property.