Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Members who have contributed to this debate. As I stated earlier, the Government cannot support the Bill, and I have outlined why we are not in a position to do so.

The introduction of the local property tax in 2013 was the largest extension of self-assessment in the history of the State, with more than 1.3 million taxpayers obliged to file LPT returns and pay the tax in respect of around 1.9 million properties. The first valuation date was 1 May 2013 and the valuations declared for that date determined tax liabilities for half of 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The next valuation date would be due on 1 November of next year, which would determine tax liabilities from 2017 to 2019. However, as the Minister, Deputy Noonan, said in his budget statement, he will now make a proposal to the Government to postpone the revaluation date until 2019. This postponement means that homeowners will not be faced with significant increases in their LPT in 2017 as a result of increased property values. It will allow the next Government, whatever its composition, to give serious consideration to the excellent work done by Dr. Thornhill in the report that the Minister asked him to carry out. A number of recommendations are contained within that report.

The local property tax is producing a stable revenue yield for local authorities and, although the tax rates are modest by international comparison, the charge is progressive. I am quite surprised that Sinn Féin is happy to support a Bill that would mean that landlords, who could own multiple properties and could actually claim back tax relief on the cost of management fees, could get an exemption or partial exemption from property tax and then pass it on to other people, maybe more hard-pressed families. It seems like quite a peculiar position.

As I have stated previously, the introduction of a property tax is part of a broader approach to taxation of property which aims to replace some of the revenue raised from transaction-based taxes. We do not believe that all of the tax base can be levelled on work. We know that is a disincentive. I know from the pre-budget submission that Sinn Féin is in favour of having a marginal tax rate in this jurisdiction that is almost 20 percentage points higher than up the road in Belfast. I debated the issue with Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson.

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