Revenue issues 130,000 Local Property Tax reminders

The Revenue Commissioners has sent out 130,000 letters to those who have not made arrangements to pay their Local Property Tax (LPT) for 2015.

The reminder notices were issued last week and resulted in the almost immediate collection of a further €1 million, as well as prompting 30,000 calls to the LPT helpline.

In a statement, Revenue said the majority of those who made contact subsequent to receiving the letters were from those who had been compliant last year but who had not made any arrangements for 2015.

They were also seeking arrears in relation to 2013 and 2014 as well as unpaid Household Charge liabilities arising from the precursor to the current property taxation system.

Mandatory deductions

Those in receipt of the letters were advised they had two weeks to respond before other measures were considered. Revenue can pursue mandatory deductions from pay or pensions where no effort is made on the part of property owners to engage.

While those opting for the “single debit authority” option will not see the money leave their account until March 21st, it is still necessary to select that option ahead of time.

A Revenue spokeswoman was unable to say how much the total estimated liability was in relation to the 130,000 recipients of letters.

According to latest figures released last month, there is now a 95 per cent compliance rate with the tax relating to the last two years.

Before the issuing of the reminder notices, Revenue had reported an 84 per cent compliance rate so far this year, bringing in €123 million, which is now expected to rise.

This round of compliance enforcement is a routine housekeeping exercise which Revenue also undertook last year.