Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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203. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason for situations where a person, liable for property tax, whose sole income derives from a social welfare payment, wishes to have the tax deducted from a weekly income but is prevented from doing so as it would result in that weekly income falling below a minimum essential standard of living and is then forced to pay by other means such as by credit card, which incurs extra charges; if he will explain the way it is considered acceptable by the State to charge low-income persons for local property tax in a single amount while it is not considered acceptable by the State to charge them the same or lower sum in instalments; if he will explain the failures to anticipate this situation in designing the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2461/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The situation referred to by the Deputy would potentially arise where weekly Local Property Tax (LPT) deductions from a property owner's Department of Social Protection (DSP) payment would have the effect of reducing that individual's personal rate payment to below the weekly rate of supplementary welfare allowance which is currently €186 per week.

This issue was well anticipated and was the subject of discussions between my officials, officials from Revenue and from DSP on a number of occasions when planning for the implementation of LPT.  One particular difficulty was that the concept of a de minimis welfare payment from DSP is enshrined in social welfare legislation and it was considered, at the time of the introduction of LPT, that it was not appropriate to change that particular piece of law.  Secondly, given that the individuals to whom the Deputy refers were low-income property owners, it was expected that a large number of these would have opted to defer the LPT charge.  The deferral option was introduced in the LPT legislation specifically to deal with low-income property owners.  The income limits are such that a person whose only income is a DSP payment will qualify, and undoubtedly, a number of these property owners did choose to defer the tax.

For those who qualify for deferral but do not wish to defer their payment, Revenue has provided a wide range of payment options. This enables property owners to select a payment option that suits their particular circumstances and the Deputy should note that there is no additional charge for paying by debit card.  Owners who wish to pay their LPT in instalments but who are precluded from paying the tax by deduction at source from their DSP payment on account of the €186 threshold, can spread their payments over the course of the year using monthly direct debits through certain credit union accounts or their bank account or, by making regular weekly or monthly payments to one of the three payment service providers which are An Post, Payzone and Omnivend. Details of the costs payable to the three service providers are set out on the Revenue website at.

I am advised by the Commissioners that where a property owner discovers that deduction of LPT from their DSP scheme is not possible, they should contact the LPT Branch helpline on 1890 200 255 to make alternative arrangements for paying the tax or to confirm whether they are eligible to defer the charge.