Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
285. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the estimated revenue raised in first- and full-year terms by increasing the vacant homes tax to four, five and six times the LPT base rate, respectively. [34899/23]
View answer286. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the estimated revenue raised in first- and full-year terms by increasing the vacant homes tax to four times the LPT base rate and increasing it by a single multiple of the LPT base rate for each further year it is vacant. [34900/23]
View answer287. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the estimated revenue raised in first- and full-year terms by increasing the vacant homes tax to five times the LPT base rate and increasing it by a single multiple of the LPT base rate for each further year it is vacant. [34901/23]
View answer288. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the estimated revenue raised in first and full-year terms by increasing the vacant homes tax to six times the LPT base rate and increasing it by a single multiple of the LPT base rate for each further year it is vacant. [34902/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 285, 286, 287 and 288 together.
The Vacant Homes Tax is a new measure announced in Budget 2023, which aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. Legislative provision for the tax was made in the Finance Act 2022. The first chargeable period commenced on 1 November 2022. The first self-assessed returns are due on 7 November this year and the tax will be payable on 1 January 2024. Therefore, there is no data available on which to base the costings sought by the Deputy.
As the Deputy will be aware, certain information on vacancy was collected as part of Local Property Tax returns in November 2021. This data has not been verified by Revenue and was collected for informational purposes only. A preliminary analysis of this data was published by Revenue in July 2022, and is available at: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/local-property-tax/lpt-stats-2022/index.aspx. In arriving at the estimates for the Budget 2023 documentation, certain assumptions were made based on the Revenue analysis and took into account the number of long-term vacant properties (those unoccupied for greater than 12 months), their valuation band, as well as their reasons for lying vacant which may correspond with an exemption from the tax. It was tentatively estimated that less than 15% of the total properties reported as vacant may be in scope of the tax.
The number of properties in scope and tax payable will depend on the self-assessed returns submitted by property owners, the number of properties declared as liable and the number of property owners entitled to claim exemption from the tax.
This measure aims increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand, rather than raise revenue. It is a new measure which comes into operation this year. The estimated yield is low, as I anticipate this tax will influence behaviour and lead to property owners putting their vacant properties to more effective use. As such, the number of properties who will be subject to this tax and the eventual yield may be lower than the estimates provided.
