11/09/2018
Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.
South Dublin Councillors agree to cut Local Property Tax by 15%
Changes will apply to property tax payments next year
Councillors in South Dublin County Council today (10/09/18) voted to reduce the Local Property Tax (LPT) by 15%. The changes will be made to bills issued in early 2019.
County Councillors, who have the power to adjust the rate by plus or minus 15% each year, voted 27 – 8 at the September Council meeting to make the decision to adjust the rate by the full 15% rate. The decision to reduce the basic rate of LPT will be funded through the discretionary element of the LPT allocation and will reduce that element of funding from €6,322,286 to €1,580,572.
The Council’s LPT allocation for 2019 is €25,289,144 representing 80% of the LPT income of €31,611,431 that it is anticipated will be collected in the South Dublin County administrative area in 2019. The remaining 20% is paid into an equalisation fund to assist other local authorities.
The Local Property Tax (LPT) became effective from 1 July 2013 and is an annual self-assessed tax which is applied to the market value of residential properties. The charge is administered by the Revenue Commissioners and the proceeds are accounted for as exchequer funding in the national Budget. An amount equivalent to annual LPT receipts is assigned to the Local Government Fund by the Minister for Finance and distributed to local authorities by the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government.
ENDS
For more information, contact South Dublin County Council Communications Unit at communications@sdublincoco.ie
For the Editor
A brief explanation of the role of elected members in relation to the setting of local adjustment factor:
Section 20 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended by Section 5 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013) provides each Local Authority with the power to vary the basic rate of the Local Property Tax within its administrative area (by a maximum of plus or minus 15% of the basic rate).
The Local Property Tax (Local Adjustment Factor) Regulations 2014 require that before determining whether or not to pass a resolution to vary the basic rate of local property tax, there are certain matters to which the local authority must have regard including:
- Report on Income and Expenditure
- Financial position of the local authority
- Financial effect of variation
- Outcome of public consultation process
It is important to note that the Member’s decision in this respect, applies for a period of one year from the next local property tax liability date. The 15% reduction to the basic rate of LPT, passed by the Members on 10th September 2018, applied for the period 1st November 2018 (liability date) to 31st October 2019. The rate reverts to the basic rate at the 1st November 2019, i.e. the pre-adjusted rate.
The above is a summary of the role of elected members in relation to setting the Local Property Tax. Adjustment factor. It is intended for guidance only. The Finance Acts set out the requirements in full.
About South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County is one of four local authority areas in the Dublin region.
South Dublin County Council provides and funds a broad range of services including housing, roads, walking and cycling routes, parks and playgrounds, libraries, sports facilities, litter control, arts centres, enterprise units, fire services, community infrastructure and financial support. It also serves as a platform for local democracy with 40 councillors spread across six electoral areas.
Bounded by the River Liffey to the North and the Dublin Mountains to the South, the County lies 16 kilometres south-west of Dublin city centre and has an administrative footprint of 223sq. kilometres. The County has nine main villages Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown, Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Templeogue, Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle and is bounded by adjoining counties of Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin City, Fingal and Dun Laoghaire.