Property Taxation Collection

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Questions (143, 202, 214, 215, 216, 229, 232, 239, 252)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

143. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Finance his views on the local property tax (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47110/13]

Michael McGrath

Question:

202. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the arrangements that apply for persons who wish to pay their local property tax liability for 2014 by credit card; if he will specify the relevant payment dates that apply to such persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46491/13]

Niall Collins

Question:

214. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding payment of the local property tax and the different payment dates for payment by credit/debit card, and the single debit authority option in March 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46815/13]

Andrew Doyle

Question:

215. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Revenue Commissioners have set the date of the end of November for payment of the 2014 local property tax for the persons who pay by credit card; the penalties that will apply to persons who pay later than this date; if the Revenue Commissioners will consider extending the card payments deadline date beyond November until the end of the year, in line with dates for persons paying via other methods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46879/13]

Brendan Griffin

Question:

216. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will extend the due date for the 2014 property tax liability in respect of persons who choose to make payment by cash, cheque and debit transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46881/13]

Finian McGrath

Question:

229. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify issues in relation to the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46999/13]

Tom Fleming

Question:

232. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Finance if he will intervene with the Revenue Commissioners to extend the closing date for the 2014 property tax returns by at least one month; if he will introduce flexible arrangements for stage payments for householders who may have opted for yearly once off payments in 2013 but now due to changes in financial circumstances and hardship for many of these householders that a more flexible option be granted to these people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47059/13]

Róisín Shortall

Question:

239. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance if he was informed of the decision to pre-charge home owners who pay by credit or debit card for the 2014 property tax; if he was not, the level in the Revenue Commissioners such a decision was taken and if he will indicate if he has met with the person or persons responsible since the decision was taken; if his attention has been drawn to the public outrage at such a decision and the deep public concern at the apparent absence of any forward planning or consideration of family budgeting in the pre-Christmas period; if he will instruct the Revenue Commissioners to push the deadline for such payments into the new year; and if he will immediately review all local property tax operations in the Revenue Commissioners with the aim of significantly improving customer service, planning, and guidance on the local property tax. [47101/13]

Martin Heydon

Question:

252. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Finance the reason certain payment methods, debit/credit card and cheque, for the 2014 local property tax require payment to be taken in 2013; the options that are available to property owners liable for the 2014 local property tax who wish their payment to be taken in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47136/13]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 143, 202, 214 to 216, inclusive, 229, 232, 239 and 252 together.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they recently wrote to over 960,000 property owners who paid their 2013 LPT by lump sum (i.e. by debit/credit card, cash, cheque/postal order or single debit authority) or by way of regular cash payments. In the letter, the Commissioners asked these property owners to reply to Revenue indicating their payment preference for 2014.

Letters were not sent to property owners who paid their 2013 LPT by deduction at source from salary/occupational pension or from certain Government payments or direct debit, or to those who opted to defer their full LPT liability or those who claimed an exemption, as all of these options will simply roll over and continue to apply for 2014. No action is required to be taken by these property owners, unless they wish to change to a different payment method for 2014.

Payment Options

As I have informed the House on numerous occasions in the past, the LPT provides for a range of payment options and property owners can choose the one that best suits their particular circumstances. I am advised that no matter how the LPT charge for 2013 was paid, property owners can choose any of the available options to pay their 2014 liability and can decide whether to pay the tax in full or to spread payments over the course of 2014. Property owners can:

- Spread their payments evenly throughout 2014 by way of direct debit or deduction from salary, pension or Government payment (direct debits commence on 15 January 2014);

- Spread their payments by making regular payments, weekly or monthly, throughout 2014 at service providers listed (An Post, Payzone and Omnivend);

- Pay in full by Single Debit Authority (like a cheque) which will be debited by Revenue on 21 March 2014;

- Pay in full by 1 January 2014 through service providers listed (An Post, Payzone and Omnivend);

- Pay by cheque or postal order by 1 January 2014;

- Pay in full now by debit/credit card.

LPT Legislation

Section 119 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out the dates for payment of the Local Property Tax (LPT). For the year 2014, the payment due date is 1 January 2014. The legislation also makes provision for property owners to pay the tax for 2014 in equal instalments over the period 1 January 2014 to end December 2014.

I am further advised by the Revenue Commissioners that there is no requirement on any property owner to pay their LPT for 2014 before 1 January 2014. I can also absolutely state that no penalties apply if a person does not pay before then as the tax is not due until 1 January 2014. The only action a property owner is required to take now is to decide on their payment method for 2014 and submit the payment instruction to Revenue by the relevant due date (which is 7 November 2013 for paper filers, or 27 November 2013 for on-line filers) and this is clearly stated in the letters recently issued by the Commissioners. The date of 7 November is provided for in the LPT legislation (the 27 November date is a concession on Revenue’s part, in accordance with their normal arrangements for online filers). The legislation requires property owners to advise Revenue of their payment method. Notice is required to put the necessary arrangements in place to ensure that phased payments by way of deduction at source from employment or occupational pension income or from certain payments from the Departments of Social Protection and Agriculture, Food and the Marine will start in January 2014 and spread payment of the full LPT liability evenly over the course of 2014.

Regarding the comparisons made in Question No. 46999/13 between the payment arrangements for LPT and those for the self-employed, I am advised that the reference to June/July is incorrect. I am also advised that the range of options available are similar except that LPT provides significantly more flexibility by facilitating monthly direct debit payments or weekly/monthly deduction at source and cash payment options.

Communications

I would like to take this opportunity to assure the Deputies that the process for 2014 is much simpler than 2013 because there is no need for property owners to assess the value of their properties. Property owners are only required to confirm how they intend to pay the tax for 2014. This was clearly indicated in the letters that issued recently. As part of Revenue's public communications campaign, an information advertisement was included in the national and local papers during the last two weeks of October. In addition, the Revenue website includes a dedicated page outlining what property owners are required to do for 2014. Revenue spokespeople have also taken part in a large number of national and local media interviews and continue to do so. The Commissioners have also issued a briefing note to all parliamentary assistants of Oireachtas Members providing clarification on what property owners are required to do now and the range of payment options that are available for paying the tax.

Lump sum payments by Debit/Credit Card

Much of the recent public and political comment has focussed on the fact that one of the payment options available, i.e. payment on-line by debit or credit card results in immediate deduction of the liability on the day the transaction is made. This has led to assertions that Revenue is requiring payment to be made during 2013 for a 2014 liability. This is emphatically not the case and neither is it the case that payment by debit/credit in 2013 is the only option available to property owners who wish to pay in full in one single payment. Those who opt to pay the tax by debit or credit card have up to 27 November 2013 to choose this payment option online. Revenue have informed me that they are getting queries from the public as to why they do not retain credit/debit card details for a number of weeks. The answer is that in line with data protection requirements and more specifically best practice in relation to data retention, Revenue does not and should not retain debit/credit card details for longer than is necessary to process and validate the payment and therefore cannot postpone the deduction of LPT until 2014 for this payment method.

Given the immediacy of payment using a debit/credit card, Revenue decided to make this information point explicitly in the letters that issued recently and also to highlight the relative attractiveness from a cashflow point of view of the other 2014 payment options.

Other lump sum payment options – Single Debit Authority

All property owners with a debit card and most with a credit card also have a bank account. If a property owner wishes to pay in full in one payment in 2014 they have the option to make a single payment from their bank account on 21 of March 2014. For homeowners who wish to pay by lump sum, this is the most advantageous option. To do this property owners should select the option entitled "Single Debit Authority", which is the second option, when filling out their property tax return online or fill in the form included in their paper return with their bank account details and sort code and return to the Revenue Commissioners. The Commissioners advise that the single debit authority payment option is drawn on a person's current account in the same way as a debit card payment is and is available to all current account holders. Property owners who opt for this method have an extended payment date to 21 March 2014.

Of course, property owners who opted to pay by lump sum in 2013 have the option of changing to payment by instalments for 2014.

Payment by Cheque/Postal Order

Issues have also been raised with regard to paying the tax by cheque/postal order. The Commissioners have confirmed that property owners may send their cheque/postal order with their LPT1A Payment Instruction form to Revenue by 7 November 2013, or alternatively, they may send their cheque/postal order separately to Revenue on or before the 1 January 2014. The taxpayer should enter the Property ID on the back of the cheque to ensure that the cheque is matched to the property. I am advised that a detailed "Frequently Asked Question" covering this point is available on the Commissioners' website at www.revenue.ie.

Revenue Administration

All matters related to the administration of LPT, and all other taxes and duties, are for the Revenue Commissioners to determine. In relation to the concerns expressed by some Deputies regarding Revenue's administration of LPT, Revenue resourcing is subject to the same constraints as all other Government Departments and Offices but I am assured that Revenue has the same resources available for administering LPT now as when the first payment of LPT was due. A key component of its strategy to manage the customer contact element of the project will continue to be the operation of a dedicated LPT Helpline at 1890-200-255. This service, which is operated by a private sector call handling company on behalf of Revenue is the primary point of contact for customers and is supported by a team of internal Revenue experts for more complex queries.

Revenue has confirmed to me that the volume of callers to the Helpline has been heavy since the issue of the 2014 LPT notifications and the volumes are being constantly monitored by Revenue. I am informed that extra resources have already been deployed today to the service to ensure waiting times are kept to the minimum. Revenue has also confirmed that it has deployed extra resources to its internal support service to cater for the more complex queries. At this point there are 180 agents fully deployed to telephone call handling with a further 80 staff dealing with correspondence. In addition, where callers leave a message with their contact details for a callback, significant numbers of these are being handled out of hours by LPT staff. I am assured by the Commissioners that the telephone situation is already showing signs of settling down but that they have made contingency plans to further increase the capacity of the helpline, if required, as the weeks progress.

The introduction of Local Property Tax, amounting, as it does, to the largest extension of the self-assessment system in the history of the State, represents a very great administrative challenge for Revenue. Revenue has handled this challenge very well to date and has successfully answered in excess of 560,000 telephone calls and replied to in excess of 200,000 letters or emails since March 2013. I want to again commend Revenue for the excellent work it has done in taking LPT from concept to a fully functioning tax in such a short period of time, including the enacting of legislation, the building of a brand new property Register, the provision of customer service to such a large volume of taxpayers and critically the lodgement of in excess of €215m to date to the Exchequer.

I do not need to remind Deputies that the Revenue Commissioners are independent in the application of the taxes and customs Acts. Their primary role is to administer the tax and customs systems in accordance with laws passed by this House, and to secure the taxes and duties for the Exchequer which are necessary to run the country. In that context, I regularly meet the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners and I am fully satisfied that consideration has been and continues to be given by Revenue to the matters raised in all of these Questions. In particular, I am satisfied that Revenue highlighted in all their communication that there are easy ways to pay LPT in 2014, especially phased payments but they need to be set up in advance to work smoothly for the property owners concerned. Furthermore, I understand the Chairman will be meeting the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform on Thursday next in relation to the administration of LPT, as she has done in the past.

Finally, I am very pleased to note that in excess of 50,000 property owners have already filed and selected their payment option for LPT 2014, with some 56% using the online facility. I am also informed that the full range of payment options are being selected by property owners and it is clear that they are making their own decisions on the payment option that best suits themselves.