The latest figures on the Property Tax from Revenue say that 1.6 million LPT returns from 2013 had been filed by November 2013 .
This figure does not include about 160,000 local authority and voluntary housing properties – becaues they will be filing LPT returns in bulk So – if we include social housing – the total number of properties registered for LPT will be about 1.76 million.
The exact figure for the total number of liable properties is not known. A figure of around 1.96 million was mentioned by Minister Hogan and Revenue . So – based on that – there could be as many as 200,000 properties still to be registered for the Property Tax. That is a fairly respectable compliance level of around 90% .
The Property Tax legislation mentions a financial penalty for not completing an LPT1 form. It appears that this penalty will not be automatic – Revenue say they “will follow up with you if you do not submit your LPT Return form”
Revenue also say that… “Penalties will not be imposed automatically and will be preceded by engagement with the taxpayer. If you don’t send your completed return to Revenue, the penalty (idf applied) will be the amount of tax due, subject to a maximum of €3,000″
IE – if your property tax is estimated at €157 and you don’t return the form – you will then owe double that amount (ie. €314) if Revenue apply the penalty.
More about Property Tax Penalties
More about Property Tax for 2014
Michael Noonan himself admitted it was 1.9 million households liable which is the real figure as council houses/ghost estates and shared ownership schemes and all liable as they had a waiver with last years household charge.
Some questions someone should ask
(1) How many of the current home tax returns choose the deferral option in cases of an inability to pay, just because a home tax form has being returned doesn,t mean everyone has opted for payment.
(2) Im sure people have heard about another campaign out there calling itself attackthetax they seem to be advising people to return the forms with stickers on the forms about a high court challenge they claim they are bringing, from what I see on social media a lot of people are listening to this new campaign, how many of the current returns are left blank with just the attackthetax stickers attached to the forms ?
(3)From online research there is 140,000 council/social houses liable plus 154,000 owners of multiple properties who are liable to pay the tax on approximately 470,000 properties. Add council/social houses and multiple properties together between them both this equals to 610.000 properties. I would question how many of the present returns are filed by landlords and local authorities.
Thanks Mick for your comments.
Just some thoughts to add to your intersting points…
1)Deferral isn’t really an issue – the government have factored that in. In fact – they probably prefer some deferment because it gets them 4% more.
2) Those attack the .. crowd must be getting in a good few thousand Euro. I don’t think anyone will see much benefit from it – except maybe the organisers.
3)I don’t think local authorities will have filed any returns yet – they are having a special LPT3 for for them to file for their multiple properties.
Its revealed this week the attackthetax campaign have launched their legal challenge against the property tax, I can,t help but wonder how many of the present returns have the attackthetax logos on the forms, as I observe their facebook page people are still sending back the forms with the attackthetax stickers.
Mick – if you are involved with the attackthetax campaign – maybe you could tell us how many people have paid the fee to sign up to the “SPV”
The stance of “Attack The Tax” is that if there is a pending court case and you are a party to that case, then you are not obliged to pay the tax until the outcome of the case is known. And, if the revenue were to apply for a court order to take the money from your account/wages etc then that order could not be legally granted pending the outcome of the case.
You become a party to the case by registering on their website and contributing €2 towards the cost of the litigation.
I was a little skeptical about chances of the “Attack The Tax” movement and whether it might just be a money making scheme for the orgainisers but as of last Friday they have now followed through on their promise and have filed a case in the high courts.
Assuming that their claim – that you are not obliged to pay the tax pending the outcome of the case – is in fact true, then I see no reason to believe that €2 is a bad investment.
Gary – anyone can file a case in the high court. What happened to the case that was filed against the Household Charge? Wasn’t it thrown out of court?
The household charge case is still ongoing and due for hearing in Westport District Court on the 4th July. To date not one single ‘owner’ of the 500,000 plus who have not declared their liability or paid have been penalised in any court.
That’s correct Conor. That’s because they can’t and they know it. Their own law wont allow them to and Ironically, the people who didn’t make a declaration under the household charge act and statutory instrument, are in the strongest position of all. No person on this planet can be forced by another person, no matter who or what they are, to make a declaration. It would be a breach of basic human rights laws. And without a signed and dated declaration you cannot be liable for a household charge or property tax. I have read the law and educated myself and I see the fraud that this government pulled on the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society. This “SPV” is a brilliant concept and can achieve so much going forward. I am sure Enda and Phil are a little bit concerned at the moment and know that this is a whole new dynamic that will challenge the undemocratic dictators at a time when so many have so little left to give….Isn’t it strange the way the media here are not giving this any coverage?????
The main problem with Barrack-room lawyers offering free advice to others is they have no liability to compensate any poor sucker who follows their advice and suffers a financial penalty as a result.
As I see it, the State has furnished Revenue with ample statutory powers to collect both LPT PLUS the overdue Household Charge (which will cost twice as much as it cost the sensible folks who paid it last year), without having to incur the hassle, the delay and the costs of going to court.
And Gerry Adams appears to agree with me – his blog states: “This family home tax, the brainchild of Fianna Fáil, gives the State unprecedented powers to collect it. The financial implications for households are very serious. The only way to stop this tax is to repeal the bill. No other measures such as boycott or refusing to value your home will work.”
It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few months, but I reckon that the Government and Revenue have got things pretty well sewn up.
Perhaps you’re right in the way you see it. That is your choice in a free democracy. That is the essence of democracy. The right to express your beliefs and your dis-beliefs without fear as you feel fit to do so. Those who are contesting this tax and have refused to make a declaration and pay because of what they see as human rights breaches, are doing so because that’s the way they see it and the evidence is beginning to stack up in their favor. The case in the small district courthouse in Westport is turning the tide on this tax and it’s fundamentals and Revenue, just like everyone else, have to obey the law no matter what statutory powers they think they have. If the non-conformists and the SPV achieve their goal and this tax falls, those shareholders that did register and pay will be re-compensed by the state along with damages while the “sensible folk” will be left wondering what they could have done with the 100 euro plus LPT they gave willingly or otherwise. Maybe they could have put it towards their standing charge on their water meters?……