Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the procedure to be followed when a property tax notice issues in error to a person at a previous address (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16971/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how the tax is to be administered and provides that a liability for Local Property Tax (LPT) will arise where a person owns a residential property on the liability date which will be 1 May 2013 for the year 2013. A key aspect of the work undertaken by Revenue was the development of a comprehensive Register of residential properties in the State. 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. Data from the various sources has been cross-checked to ensure that the Register is as accurate as possible. The Register is being used to issue correspondence to property owners and work is still in progress to refine it.

I am informed that while every effort has been made to correctly match residential properties to owners, in a small number of cases, some individuals who are renting properties have inadvertently received LPT Returns from Revenue for the property. One reason for this may be that the landlord of the rented property has not registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

Indeed the possibility of individuals other than owners receiving Returns in error, has been cited by the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners in public statements that she has made in connection with the currently ongoing general issue of LPT Returns. I am further advised that this particular possibility is covered in the letter and the information booklet that accompanies the LPT Return. The correspondence advises anyone who receives an LPT Return from Revenue, but who is not the liable person in respect of a property, what steps they should take. It is important that they should not ignore the Return.

Where an individual who is renting a property receives a Return for that property they should advise Revenue in writing that they are not the liable person in respect of the property and provide the relevant supporting documentation, where available. This will ensure that the LPT Register can be corrected. I am advised by Revenue that individuals who are receiving LPT Returns in error are advising the Revenue Commissioners, who are updating the Register accordingly.

I am further advised by the Commissioners that rather than issuing multiple Returns to owners of multiple properties, a single letter issued to each of these owners instructing them to file their Returns for their properties on-line. As the Deputy’s constituent received a single Return in his or her name from Revenue, this would suggest that it is the only property that Revenue would have identified the constituent in question as the owner of. However, if the Deputy wishes to supply the details of the constituent, I will pass these on to the Revenue Commissioners, who will check the LPT Register to ensure that this is the case.

While it is absolutely regretted that any correspondence issues to the wrong person, given the scale of the operation involved, there was always a likelihood that this would arise in some instances. I am very satisfied that as part of Revenue’s communications around the general issue of LPT Returns, the Commissioners sought to fore-warn taxpayers and they have provided very clear guidance on the steps that should be taken in these cases.