Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 November 2013
57. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance if he will ensure that persons who opted to pay their property tax by visa debit are not penalised and forced to pay 2015 tax in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51100/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), Local Property Tax (LPT) for is payable on or before 1 January of that year. For the year 2015, the tax will be payable on or before 1 January 2015. The range of payment options provided by the Revenue Commissioners ensures that nobody is forced to pay LPT before that date. The Revenue Commissioners are facilitating those who wish to exercise a personal choice to pay by debit card. However the consequences are clearly spelled out and there are other easier and arguably more advantageous options to pay the LPT.
The administration of the LPT, including payment of LPT for 2015 by debit card, is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. I understand that the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners dealt with this issue comprehensively when she attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform on 7 November 2013. The Chairman informed the Committee that in order to provide for a delayed payment of LPT by way of credit/debit card, Revenue would be required to retain taxpayer’s credit/debit card data. The Commissioners are concerned about retaining such data from a data protection perspective and other issues, including costs, also arise. Recent well publicised data breaches arising from the retention of such data underline those concerns. The Chairman agreed that the Commissioners would review the payment patterns for 2014 to establish the proportion of owners who choose to pay the tax by credit/debit card and they would also carefully review the issue of retaining debit/credit card data and its potential impact on systems, costs, security and data protection.
