Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 November 2015
23. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance why the report of the review of the local property tax by Dr. Don Thornhill was not published until budget day 2016, given that it was dated July 2015; the timeframe he had sight of the report's recommendations before it was published; and when its recommendations will be implemented. [40179/15]
View answerI engaged Dr. Thornhill to consider the operation of the Local Property Tax, in particular, any impacts on LPT liabilities due to recent property price developments. The review was informed by the outcomes of a public consultation initiated in March 2015 in response to which fifty-one written submissions were received.
Dr. Thornhill presented the report of his review of the Local Property Tax to me under a letter dated 24th July 2015. I examined the report's findings and recommendations in conjunction with my officials in the run-up to the recent Budget. I published the report on Budget day and announced in my 2016 Budget statement that I would be making a proposal to Government to postpone the revaluation date for the Local Property Tax from 2016 to 2019. This is one of the recommendations in Dr. Thornhill's report. The postponement of the revaluation date means that home owners will not be faced with significant increases in their LPT in 2017 as a result of increased property values and it gives sufficient time for the other recommendations to be considered in full. Work on the necessary legislative amendments is under way and I hope to introduce them to the Oireachtas in the near future. These legislative provisions will also give effect to two of the recommendations in the report in relation to changed approaches to the implementation of the pyrite exemption from LPT, and reliefs from LPT in respect of properties occupied by persons with disabilities, both of which are being implemented on an administrative basis by the Revenue Commissioners at my request.
