Sheds, outhouses and some land could be used to calculate Local Property Tax (LPT) under proposed government changes.
That’s according to Aontú Leader and Meath West TD, Peadar Tóibín, who has been speaking at the Oireachtas Finance Committee on the General Scheme of Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021.
He said he has two serious concerns in relation to the proposed government changes in the LPT legislation.
The first relates to changes in the definition of what a residential property is. The deputy said that the second would subject mica homeowners to the LPT, while their houses are crumbling.
Could sheds be used in LPT?
Deputy Tóibín has opposed the LPT on several occasions, and he said he remains unconvinced that the bill will do anything to address the “real inequity” arising from the LPT.
He added that he is concerned about the worrying redefinition of a ‘residential property’ within the legislation, which he says has caused serious stress among homeowners.
“According to the Heads of Bill, sheds, outhouses and an increased footprint of the land are going to be included in the calculation of the LPT.
“Also the land included will change from an acre (ac) to a hectare (ha). This is over a doubling of the land included in the valuation.
“The minister failed further to provide definitive clarity on this point, leaving property owners once again in the dark.”
Mica properties
The Aontú TD has also raised concerns with the housing minister about what he describes as a “loophole” the legislation creates with regard to mica homeowners.
According to Tóibín, the minister responded to questions stating that the bill will afford a six-year LPT exemption to mica property owners.
“However, the Taoiseach stated only a month ago that the state’s €1 billion in funding to rebuild mica housing is for between now and 2030. This creates the potential for a four-year loophole, whereby mica homeowners could be liable for LPT on houses in ruins,” the deputy said.
“Property owners who are already struggling to afford crippling, decades-long mortgages are, and have been, hammered by this blanket measure.
“[It] fails to take into account the individual circumstances of property owners. Some have inherited property, which they already would have paid Inheritance Tax on, but who can’t afford the LPT on the property,” he said.
Up to now, a property is liable for LPT if it was a residential property on the valuation date of May 1, 2013.