Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move recommendation No. 15:

In page 134, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following:"Amendment of Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012
100. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 is amended by replacing section 13 with the following—

"13.(1) In this Act the date by reference to which the chargeable value of a relevant residential property is to be established is referred to as the valuation date.
(2) The valuation date in relation to a relevant residential property shall be 1 May 2013.
(3) The Minister may, by order, alter the valuation date referred to in subsection (2).".".

Recommendation No. 15 would deal once and for all with the issue of the revaluation date for the local property tax, LPT. This has been debated in the Dáil, here and in the media. If one takes Dublin, for instance, there has been a 40%-plus increase in property prices in the last year. Nationwide, it has been about 25%. We are looking at substantial increases in the local property tax. We are trying to give certainty with this recommendation by giving the Minister the right and the ability to set that revaluation date aside. The valuation is fixed through to 2019 or whatever date the Minister provides for at the time. It is something that Government has to examine. There have been substantial increases in property prices. People will be paying much more under the property tax if Government does not step in. It is better to give a bit of certainty on this and not to wait to review it. I have heard the Minister, Deputy Noonan, speaking on this issue, and the Minister of State and I have also discussed it.
Recommendation No. 16 is that the local property tax paid in respect of a rented property shall be deductible by a liable person in accordance with section 11 for income tax and corporation tax purposes. That makes absolute sense. Very little is deductible on rental income. The local property tax should be deductible. The recommendation says what we want. I will not labour this point further.
The main recommendation, recommendation No. 18, which I really want Government to consider very strongly, provides that liable persons who are obliged to pay an annual fee to a management company in respect of private housing or apartment complexes shall be eligible to deduct from their annual local property tax one third of the amount of such management fee paid, or €350, whichever is greater. All of us are aware that there are thousands of people in this country paying property tax. There are also thousands of people paying management fees. They are people living in apartments and privately managed estates who pay management fees of varying amounts. Many local authorities insisted, by way of conditions in planning permission, that these estates be private estates. Therefore, they were never taken in charge by the local authority. People pay for insurance, lighting and a sinking fund, and they pay separately for their waste disposal. They derive basically no services from the local authority. Yet someone living in an apartment who could be paying €1,600 or €1,700 a year in management fees is also paying a property tax. When the property tax legislation was going through the House, we tabled an amendment looking for certain exemptions. This was defeated at the time. We are not looking for these people not to pay property tax at all. It would be much better to give some type of relief, as outlined here. The relief would be on one third of the management fee, if certified as being paid, or €350, whichever is greater. There is a reason for the €350 limit. Some prestigious properties might have management fees of €3,000 or €4,000. I am not looking to exempt them either. I am seeking to provide this relief in particular to those who bought at the height of the market, a time when apartments and managed estates were coming through. This is a sensible suggestion. It is something we can and should do. It would give some type of relief to people who are effectively paying on the double. They are paying a local property tax and getting nothing for it, in the sense that they are getting nothing for it in their own immediate area. I understand the LPT is supposed to go into more than that when it is eventually disbursed to the local authorities, unlike this year or last year. However, this is an area that does need to be examined. It is unfair on people. Many people bought properties in estates such as these. They had no choice. I am not talking purely about gated communities. There are thousands of dwellings within a stone's throw from here on which people will be paying management fees. These are normal houses and apartments. I am interested to hear the Minister of State's views on this and whether we can do something about it.