Fianna Fáil Press Office
Michael McGrath TD
Finance spokesperson
09 January 2016
Noonan misleads flood victims
-No provision in LPT act to reduce valuations-
Fianna Fáil Finance spokesperson Michael McGrath has called on Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to withdraw a misleading statement he made last Tuesday in which he claimed that householders who have been hit by flooding can apply to have a reduced LPT bill in 2016.
On Tuesday Minister Noonan told a press conference that “Local Property Tax is a tax that is self-assessed so if a householder believes that the value of their property has been diminished or totally cancelled well then they should submit a valuation commensurate with that. So it is already within the legal base of the property tax to allow householders to deal with reducing values from with any extraneous event including flooding.”
However Revenue have confirmed there is no provision in the LPT act to decrease a valuation from an event such as flooding.
Deputy McGrath commented “The Minister for Finance effectively quoted a non- existent provision of Local Property Tax legislation when he claimed that householders could apply for a reduced valuation to take account of the damage to their home.
“The Minister was given an opportunity by RTE Drivetime yesterday to correct the record and he failed to do so. He is allowing a situation to continue in which misleading information has been provided to the public. This is even more inexplicable when one considers that he is the Minister who sponsored the legislation through the Dáil and should be familiar with its terms.
“People have enough on their plate trying to deal with the upheaval they have suffered without being given false information. Minister Noonan should now clear up this matter and withdraw the previous statement he made.
“I believe there is still time between now and the date when the General Election is likely to be called for this issue to be dealt with. A debate is scheduled for Wednesday in the Dáil on the effects of flooding. The Minister for Finance or one of his colleagues should take the opportunity to announce that measures will be introduced to give householders the relief from LPT to which they should be entitled,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
-ENDS-
Fianna Fáil Press Office: 087 9555 600
