James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) in County Longford, will be liable for property tax in July on a house which is new, unoccupied and for sale for the last four years and still has some work outstanding on it and which by July will form part of a discretionary trust for his son and daughter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7230/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that it would not be appropriate to give a definitive reply based on the information supplied by the Deputy. The following may be helpful by way of general information. A liability for LPT will arise where a person owns a residential property which is in use or is suitable for use as a dwelling on the liability date, which will be 1 May 2013 for the year 2013. Properties held in discretionary trusts are not exempt from the LPT per se, and in such cases the trustees are liable to pay the tax. However, the following exemptions from Local Property Tax (LPT) apply, whether the properties are held in a discretionary trust or otherwise: Residential properties constructed by a builder or developer that remain unsold and have not been used as dwellings previously, New and previously unused properties that are purchased from a builder or developer between 1 January 2013 and 31 October 2016, Properties purchased by first time buyers between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013, once they are occupied by them as their sole or main residence, Properties in unfinished housing estates (commonly called “ghost estates”) specified by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

The Local Property Tax is a self-assessed tax and I am advised that if a property is not in use or is not suitable for use as a dwelling, the liable person is obliged to notify the Revenue Commissioners as soon as possible after they receive their LPT return, outlining why they consider a charge to LPT does not arise on the property and including relevant supporting documentation.