Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “That Seanad Éireann:” and substitute the following:“recognises that:

- the objective of the Local Property Tax (LPT) is to broaden the tax base and replace some of the revenue from transaction based taxes with an annual recurring property tax to provide a stable and secure source of funding for local authorities;

- this stable source of funding has yielded over €470 million in 2017 to support the activities of local authorities throughout the State;

- the LPT is fair and equitable as the owners of the most valuable properties pay the most;

- the LPT legislation provides appropriately in relation to ability to pay and conforms to international norms;

- the LPT is now well established as a significant element of our taxation system and acknowledges that extensive research and experience internationally shows that taxes on immovable property are among the taxes that are consistently recognised as being the least detrimental to growth and employment;

- the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2015 provided inter alia for the postponement of the revaluation date for the LPT from 1 November 2016 to 1 November 2019, ensuring that home owners were protected from significant increases in their LPT liabilities in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as property values increased;

- the Minister for Finance has initiated a significant and important review of the operation of the LPT focusing in particular on the impact on LPT liabilities of property price developments since the initial valuation date of 1 May 2013;

- a public consultation has been conducted as part of the review;

- the current review of the LPT includes an examination of the outstanding recommendations of the 2015 Thornhill review of the LPT and will inform the Minister for Finance in relation to any actions he may recommend to Government concerning the overall yield from the LPT, its contribution to total tax revenue and the optimum way of achieving that objective;

and calls on the Government to complete the current review of the LPT and bring forward proposals in due course designed inter alia to ensure that taxpayers LPT liabilities in respect of 2020 remain affordable and sustainable.”