Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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1369. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he plans to address the discriminatory position whereby commercial premises with an on street presence must pay commercial rates while their online competitors do not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21273/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Commercial rates are levied on occupiers of rateable property in accordance with valuations provided by Tailte Éireann. These valuations are based on the rental value of properties assessed at a point in time.

The basis for this approach to valuation is provided for in the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. In accordance with the Valuation Acts some classes of properties such as pubs, hotels and service stations are valued by reference to the trading data associated with the property. The valuation of individual properties is a matter for Tailte Éireann.

A property-based tax such as rates has a distinct advantage over any tax based on profits or incomes as it is generally found to be easy to collect and difficult to evade. A system having regard to economic factors on an on-going basis would create uncertainty by providing for continuous change to the valuation base. Such a system would not provide a stable basis for funding local government and would require significant additional resources to operate.

The consideration of taxation of online economic activity within a balanced taxation system is a matter for my colleagues the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation and the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.