Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the logistical planning undertaken to date to administer the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14045/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Introducing a new tax regime for residential property in such a tight timeframe has been a significant challenge for the Revenue Commissioners along with all of their other responsibilities. Enacting the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act in December 2012 provided the basis for the development of the necessary systems. A small number of amendments were made to the original Act, which included some further exemptions from the charge and new types of deferral arrangements. These amendments were included in the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013 which was signed into law by the President on 13 March 2013. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how Local Property Tax (LPT) is to be administered and how a residential property is to be valued for LPT purposes. Since the Government’s announcement last July that the Revenue Commissioners would be responsible for the administration of this new tax, the Commissioners have had extensive contacts with a wide range of Government Departments and Agencies through the Interdepartmental Group which was set up last August to help plan the introduction of LPT.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a wide range of payment options have been made available to liable persons, which will allow them to pay their LPT liability in full or by way of phased payments. Bi-lateral meetings have been held with the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to ensure that the deduction at source option from certain payments administered by these Departments would be available to property owners. Meetings to assess progress on the necessary developments required to implement the deduction at source options are ongoing.

In addition, detailed discussions have also taken place with a number of private sector stakeholders including payroll administrators and payroll software specialists regarding the implementation of the deduction at source option and these groups are actively working to meet agreed timelines. A key element of the design of the tax is that property owners will have as much flexibility as possible to spread the payment of tax in equal instalments throughout the year and this is why the facility to deduct the tax at source is of such importance. Payment of LPT can also be made by single debit authority, debit/credit card, direct debit and cash. The Revenue Commissioners recently published details on their website of the payment service providers who will accept cash payments of LPT at their premises and they are An Post, Payzone and Omnivend. The three organisations concerned have a major nationwide reach that will ensure the widest possible availability of facilities where LPT payments can be made.

The additional resources required by Revenue for 2013 are noted in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Expenditure Report 2013. The Employment Control Framework includes 100 additional posts approved by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in the context of the introduction of LPT. The Commissioners further advise that a Local Property Tax Branch, under the Office of the Collector-General, is now fully established in Ennis, Co. Clare to manage all aspects of the administration of the tax for both resident and non-resident customers. The Commissioners are deploying additional staff to this Branch by reconfiguring their District structure in the South West and relocating functions from Clare to Limerick. In addition, Revenue has contracted for external service delivery of some data capture and call centre services. At this point, Revenue’s dedicated LPT Helpline (at 1890 200 255) is fully functional and will be resourced appropriately to handle the anticipated high number of contacts.

A key aspect of the work undertaken by Revenue was the development of a comprehensive Register of residential properties in the State which is the cornerstone of the new tax. The Register was developed using data drawn from a range of sources including Revenue’s own databases, the Local Government Management Agency database and data from utility companies. This Register is being used to issue correspondence to property owners and work is still in progress to refine the Register and ensure, as far as possible, that all property owners will be contacted. The use of multiple databases does, however, bring the risk of duplication and the Commissioners have made every effort to lessen this risk. Another important aspect of the logistical preparations for introducing LPT has been the development of the IT systems for administering and collecting the new tax and its incorporation into Revenue’s existing IT infrastructure. I am advised by the Commissioners that these systems are also in place.

The Commissioners have prepared valuation guidance which, taken together with the owner’s own knowledge of the property, will assist him or her in assessing its value. The guidance includes an on-line interactive valuation guide which provides indicative property valuation bands depending on the property type, age and location. This facility was made available on the Revenue website on 10 March and has seen extensive use with almost 600,000 “hits” recorded in its first four days of operation.

The Deputy will also be aware that last week Revenue began the general issue of LPT Returns, an explanatory booklet and related information to the owners of 1.66 million properties who will be obliged to file their Returns by the relevant deadline - 7 May for those filing paper Returns and 28 May for those filing their Return on-line. The first property owners to have received the correspondence occurred on Wednesday 13 March and up to Friday 15 March, 178,941 letters had been posted by Revenue. The general issue of correspondence, given the volumes involved, is likely to run for four weeks.

I am also advised that property owners will have the option of completing and submitting their LPT return in paper or by electronic means. Revenue has developed a secure on-line system for filing LPT Returns that is user friendly and easily accessible on the Revenue website. This on-line system also went live on 13 March. From the taxpayer’s perspective, using the on-line system is the quickest and most straightforward way to complete and submit their LPT Returns, particularly so where there are multiple properties involved, as the system automatically calculates the LPT due for the individual properties, makes it easy to select a payment method from the wide range of options available and provides immediate access to Revenue’s on-line valuation guide. I am assured that all the processes and procedures required to handle the completed LPT return forms from property owners by the relevant due dates of 7 May 2013 for paper forms, and 28 May for online forms, will be in place.

To coincide with the issue of LPT Returns to property owners, a public information campaign was launched on 7 March with a Press Conference delivered by the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners. This was followed by a number of radio and television interviews with Revenue spokespersons. Over the coming months Revenue will make spokespersons available particular to local radio to provide advice. A publicity campaign targeting radio and the print media has also just commenced. The Revenue website contains extensive information on how the tax will operate and the obligations for owners of residential properties, including Frequently Asked Questions which are updated regularly. Revenue is also working closely with the Citizens Information Service to optimise the opportunities for property owners to get advice and assistance in completing their LPT Return.

I am fully satisfied with the logistical planning undertaken by the Commissioners and am very pleased with the progress made to date. I am confident that they will deliver all of the necessary milestones prior to the commencement of the new regime on 1 July 2013.