Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014
125. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will arrange for the Revenue Commissioners to stop enforcement action seeking €200 in household charge arrears from a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4 as they are not liable for this charge as they live in social housing. [19712/14]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that Section 156 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 converted any arrears of Household Charge (HHC) that was still outstanding on 1 July 2013 to a Local Property Tax (LPT) liability of €200 per property and made Revenue responsible for collecting the tax. On assuming responsibility for the collection of HHC, Revenue received the Register from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and cross-referenced it with the LPT Register to identify a database of properties for which the Household Charge is still outstanding. As part of its communications strategy, Revenue clearly stated that the database would not be 100% accurate for a number of reasons, for example because the LGMA Register captured the name of the person who physically paid the charge rather than the property owner (e.g. child paying on behalf of a parent) and did not capture details of exemptions in every case.
In regard to the specific case to which the Deputy refers, I am advised that the person in question filed a Local Property Tax Return in respect of 2013 stating that the liable person was the 'County Council'. However, the person also included his own PPSN on the Return, which was subsequently data captured by the IT system. This incorrect information linked the person rather than the Local Authority to the property as the liable person, which in turn resulted in him receiving a reminder letter in respect of arrears of HHC. Revenue has confirmed to me that the person has now been removed from the LPT Register as the liable owner and has been replaced by the Local Authority. Revenue has assured me that the person will not receive any further correspondence in regard to either LPT or HHC and does not need to make any further contact in regard to the issue.
