Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who will be liable for the local property tax on a single residential property; the number of letters issued by the Revenue Commissioners to date; when all letters will be issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17922/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that a key aspect of the work that they have undertaken in connection with Local Property Tax (LPT) has been 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 has been used to issue correspondence to property owners and by 16 April 2013, Revenue had issued 1.29 million letters to owners of 1.6 million properties. According to the Register there are 1.13 million owners who will be liable to pay the tax on a single residential property. It is expected that letters will issue this week to owners of approximately 35,000 properties. Given the scale of the task involved and the multiple sources that have been used to create the Register, I am informed that the Revenue Commissioners are continuing to update the Register with new cases as they come to light, and letters will continue to issue to newly identified property owners as a result. I am further advised by the Commissioners that where an owner is not on Revenue’s Register a return will not issue. However, the owner is still obliged to complete and file a Return by the relevant deadline (7 May for paper filers and 28 May for electronic filers).

As part of its media campaign, Revenue will advise property owners this week that, if they have not yet received a Return from Revenue, they should contact Revenue’s LPT Helpline on 1890 200 255 or access the online system on Revenue’s website to file their LPT Return. I am also advised that even where a property owner has not received a Property ID and PIN code from Revenue, they will still be able to file their Return online.