Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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172. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of persons liable for the local property tax that are not required to pay the 2013 tax until 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22158/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, in accordance with section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, all taxpayer information held by the Commissioners is confidential and they are therefore precluded from providing a list of the persons liable for the Local Property Tax (LPT) who are not required to pay their 2013 LPT liability until 2014. However, the following may be helpful to the Deputy. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides that local authorities and approved housing bodies will be liable to pay the LPT on their properties in the same way as any other residential property owner, unless the properties are used to accommodate people who have special housing needs. Special housing needs refers to the provision of housing and support for people who have a particular need in addition to a general housing need to enable them to live in the community. Under an amendment which I introduced this year in section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013, local authorities and approved housing bodies will have until 1 January 2014 to pay their 2013 LPT on any properties which they are liable to pay the tax on.

Approved housing bodies operate in the voluntary and co-operative housing sector and are engaged in the provision of social housing for those who face difficulty in living in our communities. The Revenue Commissioners have had extensive contacts regarding the LPT obligations of these bodies either directly with the bodies themselves or indirectly through the Irish Council for Social Housing, which represents this sector.