Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on matter (details supplied) regarding the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17670/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The statutory date for payment of Local Property Tax (LPT) is 1 January in the due year, for example 1 January 2015 for the 2015 tax year.  I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that specifically in regard to 2015, Revenue extended the payment due date from 1 January 2015 to 7 January 2015 to take account of the holiday period. This date was again extended to 9 January 2015 in light of the high volume of payments being received at that time. Revenue has confirmed to me that the payment compliance rate in respect of 2015 exceeded 75% by 9 January, which is an outstanding achievement for a relatively new tax. As of April 2015, the LPT 2015 compliance rate is estimated to be 94%.  

As part of the 2015 campaign Revenue wrote to all property owners in October 2014 who either paid their 2014 LPT liability in a single transaction or by way of regular cash payments through one of the approved Payment Service Providers advising them of their 2015 LPT liability. Revenue did not write to property owners who availed of the various phased payment options in 2014 such as Direct Debit and Deduction at Source from salary or pension because these methods automatically carried on into 2015.

The letters confirmed that any property owners choosing to meet their 2015 liabilities in a single payment were obliged to do so no later than 7 January 2015. 7 January was also confirmed as the latest date to inform Revenue of the intention to opt for the Single Debit Authority payment method even though it would not be debited until 21 March 2015 unless an earlier date was specified by the property owner.

In regard to property owners who paid their 2014 LPT in full by a single transaction but wished to change to a phased payment option for 2015 (Direct Debit or Deduction at Source) the letter requested that they inform Revenue of their preferred choice no later than 25 November 2014. This lead in period was necessary to allow Revenue time to put the various debit arrangements in place before the start of the calendar year.

In February 2015 warning notice letters issued to the minority of property owners who did not meet their LPT obligations by the extended due date. I am aware that these notices were clearly worded so that there could be no doubt as to the possible consequences of continued non-compliance. However the letters were balanced in that they also allowed a further 14 day grace period before any debt collection/enforcement action was started so that property owners who might have inadvertently forgotten to pay the outstanding liabilities by the due date were afforded ample time to get their affairs up to date. This was a proper approach for Revenue to adopt in fairness to the vast majority of people who met their LPT obligations on time and is one that I fully endorse.

In regard to Revenue's customer service provision for LPT, the online system is the simplest and most efficient way to access records and submit returns or payments as required. The system is available 24 hours a day and can be accessed using the secure PIN and Property ID codes that are provided to property owners. The system can also be used at any time to check balances due, change payment methods or submit queries to Revenue by secure email. I am assured that where the online system is used to its maximum potential there should be very little requirement for property owners to make any direct personal contact with Revenue.

Where direct contact with Revenue is required, the LPT Helpline should be the first point of contact. Revenue assures me that the Helpline is fully resourced to meet demand but has also acknowledged that on occasion the service did temporarily fall below normal Revenue customer service standards due to unusually high levels of demand. This mainly occurred in the earlier phases of the tax as Revenue tried to gauge the level of service required. However, these shortcomings were always quickly rectified through additional deployments, extended opening hours and call back services as required.

Revenue has assured me that the officials operating both the external and internal elements of the LPT Helpline are fully trained to the same customer service standard that applies to all other taxes and that the individual performance of each operator is fully monitored to ensure the high level of service is maintained.