Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the position regarding property tax in respect of a building (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57802/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that it would not be appropriate to give a definitive reply based on the information supplied by the Deputy. However, section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides that exemption from the Local Property Tax will be available to a public body or to other bodies that have been granted a charitable tax exemption from Revenue, where the properties in question are used for people with special accommodation needs. 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. This includes the elderly, people with disabilities, people who have been homeless and victims of domestic violence.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the need to exempt residents of Priory Hall, Dublin, tenants from the property tax in view of the situation regarding their homes and their inability to live in them due to health and safety concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57889/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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A similar exemption from the local property tax will apply for unfinished housing estates as applied for the Household Charge in 2012. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government shall prescribe a list of developments in the State being developments each of which that Minister is satisfied is incomplete to a substantial extent. Such properties will not be regarded as relevant residential properties for the purposes of the local property tax and will not be subject to the local property tax so long as they remain on the list of unfinished housing estates. It is envisaged that this list will be in line with that used for the purposes of the Household Charge.

I am informed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government that Priory Hall is among the developments listed in S.I. 1 of 2012, and was, accordingly, exempt from the Household Charge on that basis.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding property tax. [58182/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Thornhill Group, the inter-departmental group, chaired by Dr Don Thornhill, established to consider the structures and modalities of a property tax, recommended that owners and not occupiers be the liable persons for the local property tax. This was also the view of the 2009 Commission on Taxation.

The Thornhill Group saw some merit in having an occupier-focused system in that it may be more consistent with the objective of broadening the tax base as every household in the country, as distinct from every owner, would contribute. It would also incentivise efficient use of vacant property in that property owners, on whom liability for the tax in respect of any vacant property would otherwise fall, would have a greater incentive to let the property.

However, some rental properties have high tenant turnover which would present significant difficulties in determining liabilities and collecting taxes. Occupier liability may also give rise to perceptions of unfairness if the occupier on the liability date is no longer the occupier at the time when the tax is payable. Furthermore, the rental value of a property to an owner will be related to its taxable value and, depending on market conditions, tenants will end up bearing some of the cost of the tax by way of increased rent. The Government agreed with the Thornhill Group recommendation that the owner rather than the occupier should be the liable person for LPT.

The Thornhill Group recommended an exception from the general rule that the owner is the liable person in situations where other persons have substantial interests in a property, such as in the case of persons with leases that exceed 20 years or who have a life interest in a property. In such cases, the occupier would be the liable person. This exception is also provided for in the property tax legislation.

The Thornhill Group also recommended that the Local Property Tax paid in respect of a rented property should be deductible for income tax or corporation tax purposes, in a similar manner to commercial rates. This is not provided for in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 but it is the intention of the Government to introduce such a provision on a phased basis.