Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if the local property tax will be paid by the National Assets Management Agency and by the banks where residential properties are in their ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3154/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the owner of a residential property is generally the liable person for the purposes of the charge to Local Property Tax. This is on the basis that he or she has the right to immediate possession of the property or is entitled to receive the rent if the property is rented rather than occupied by the owner. It is also on condition that no other significant long-term interest in the property has been created, such as a leasehold interest for at least 20 years, or a life tenancy. In such circumstances it is the lessee or the life tenant who is the liable person and not the owner. In most cases the role of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) is that of a secured lender; it is not the owner or operator of properties. Properties remain under the control of NAMA’s debtors and appointed receivers/administrators. Where these properties are subject to the Local Property Tax it will be the responsibility of the debtor or receiver to ensure compliance. However, there are occasions where NAMA takes residential properties directly onto its balance sheet.

Thus, where NAMA or a bank has such possession or right to receive rents in relation to a residential property they will be the liable person. Neither NAMA has nor the banks have any specific exemption from the Local Property Tax.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he will give or has given any provision for an exemption for persons with disabilities in respect of the property tax; if he will make an exemption for parents of disabled children, who have altered their homes to provide for the care of their disabled child in view of the fact that they have faced financial loss as a result; if he will agree that in the event of such parents willing their property to their disabled child, that that child, being in receipt of disability allowance, will be unable to pay the property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3155/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides an exemption for residential properties that are used to accommodate people with special housing needs where the properties in question are owned by a tax-exempt charity or a public body. “Special accommodation needs” refers to the provision of housing and support for people who have a particular need in addition to a housing need to enable them to live in the community and includes the elderly and people with disabilities. Properties which have been adapted by parents to provide for the care of their disabled child are not exempt from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT). The Deputy will be aware that the State provides supports in other targeted ways, including the Housing Adaptation Grant, where changes need to be made to a home to make it suitable for a person with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability or mental health difficulty to live in. The impact of such adaptations on a property, as the Deputy suggests, can be to decrease the value which may in turn affect the LPT liability.

In cases where there is an inability to pay the LPT, Part 12 of the Act outlines cases where the tax can be deferred. Where the residential property is the sole or main residence of a liable person and their estimated gross income from all sources does not exceed €15,000 for a single person or €25,000 for a couple during the year covered by the return, they will be eligible to apply for full deferral of the LPT charge. Moreover, owner-occupiers may be eligible to apply for partial deferral where the gross income from all sources is less than €25,000 in the case of a single person and €35,000 in the case of a couple. In these cases the owner-occupier will qualify for deferrals of 50% of the LPT liability and the balance of 50% of the tax must be paid. Where the property was purchased with a mortgage, these thresholds are increased by 80% of the mortgage interest payment.