Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
201. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if a local authority will be liable to pay local property tax for the percentage of a residential property that it owns under the shared ownership scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16511/13]
View answer268. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if residents in shared ownership properties, which are part owned by local authorities, are subject to the local property tax; if he can clarify if the local authority is liable for the portion of the tax in proportion to it's percentage ownership of the property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16510/13]
View answer269. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance the way in which the value of properties held in shared ownership with local authorities will be valued for the purposes of the local property tax; if the portion that is owned by the local authority will be subject to the same rules that apply to social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16512/13]
View answerI 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.
