Whitaker Institute member Dr Gerard Turley, of the Performance Management cluster, has written a new piece for RTÉ Brainstorm. The article examines whether the local property tax and commercial rates system is fit for purpose.

For more information on Dr Gerard Turley and Stephen McNena’s project Local Authority Finances, click here.

Is it time to reset property taxes and commercial rates?

"Income from commercial rates, totalling €1.5bn, far outweighs the Local Property Tax yield of about €500m" “Income from commercial rates, totalling €1.5bn, far outweighs the Local Property Tax yield of about €500m”

Opinion: as local authorities prepare their 2020 budgets, it may be time to examine if the local property tax and commercial rates system is fit for purposeLocal authorities around the country are currently discussing and adopting council budgets for 2020 at their annual budget meetings. Councils have already decided their 2020 Local Property Tax (LPT) rate and whether to adjust the basic rate up or down by 15%, resulting in higher or lower property tax bills for owners of residential properties. As for the other local tax, commercial rates, the Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV) will be agreed as part of the adopted budget process.

Both taxes have many features in common. They are both recurrent taxes on immovable property and are important sources of local government funding, with service charges and central government grants as the other revenue sources. Revaluations are not common, but are often controversial when they take place. Continue reading…

RTÉ Brainstorm – Is it time to reset property taxes and commercial rates?

Is it time to reset property taxes and commercial rates?

RTÉ Brainstorm – Why the Government’s vacant homes tax is a missed opportunity