Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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45. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties being experienced by householders who have not received their local property tax return form and who do not have internet access; the efforts being made to ensure that all householders making an effort to pay and who do not have access to the internet are not put under undue pressure where they have not received the form; the position regarding liability for local property tax in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51115/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that in the case referred to by the Deputy, the Local Property Tax (LPT) payment notification for 2014 issued to the person in question at an address previously used in respect of other taxes. A request to change the address was received by Revenue in April 2013 and was updated to the person’s tax record. However, the change did not transfer across to the Property Register due to a data matching error and for that reason the LPT notification issued to the old address.

Revenue has informed me that the Property Register address has now been amended to reflect the correct address. Revenue has also informed me that the person’s 2014 payment notification details have been input to the record on foot of correspondence from the individual assisting the person in question and no further action is required. Revenue has confirmed these facts to the individual who is assisting the person in question.

On the Deputy’s comments about the LPT Helpline, Revenue has advised me that the introduction of LPT has represented a very great administrative challenge. For example, Revenue has successfully answered in excess of 750,000 telephone calls and replied to in excess of 210,000 letters or emails since March 2013. The requirement to provide customer support to such a large volume of taxpayers did lead to some delays, particularly leading up to the peak 2014 paper filing deadline.

Revenue responded to the delays by ensuring the deployment of significant extra resources to the LPT Helpline, which is operated by an external service provider. Revenue also deployed additional resources to its internal telephone support service and put contingency plans in place to facilitate the rapid deployment of further resources should they be needed. At this point there are 310 agents operating the combined Helpline.

Revenue also extended the paper filing deadline by one week, to 14 November 2013 and extended the opening hours of the LPT Helpline from 9am to 5pm to 8am to 8pm for the peak periods. Additionally, Revenue commenced a call-back service where people can leave their contact details in preference to queuing for service. People availing of this service receive a call-back from Revenue off peak period. These changes have significantly reduced the call waiting times for customers accessing the Helpline, with current waiting times running at approximately between five and nine minutes. The Deputy mentioned the person was cut-off when waiting for access to LPT Branch; this occurred due to a temporary technical issue on the telephony system which was quickly identified and resolved.

The Deputy’s stated that e-filing is not practical for some property owners. Section 36 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides that a return may be prepared and delivered by a person acting under the authority of the liable person, which is how the specific case referred to by the Deputy was managed. In addition to the legislative provisions, Revenue has made further arrangements to assist any property owner who may have difficulties meeting their obligations via the online system. For example, property owners can file and pay via the LPT Helpline (1890 200 255) providing they have their Property ID, PIN and payment details to hand. People can also contact their local tax office and make an appointment to meet an official who will be more than happy to assist them in meeting their obligations.

Finally, I am very happy with the initiatives that Revenue has implemented to provide an efficient and user friendly service in regard to the overall administration of LPT and I commend them for the success of the project.