Nobody required to pay 2014 property tax this year, says Shatter

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said he would have no problem if the Revenue commissioners wanted “to refine the approach” to the collection of local property tax.

Mr Shatter was speaking after Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore appeared to send conflicting messages on the tax controversy at the weekend.

Revenue has written to thousands of householders with instructions on how to pay the tax in respect of 2014. Those opting to pay by debit or credit card and some of those paying by cheque must pay before November 27th, this year. Those opting for other payment methods must say how they are going to pay before this date but have a March 2014 deadline to pay.

Mr Kenny made his view clear commenting : “Nobody, and I repeat nobody, is required to pay the 2014 property tax in 2013”. However Mr Gilmore urged Revenue to reconsider its approach to how the local property tax was to be collected.

Mr Shatter said today: “It is very clear. No-one is obliged to pay the tax before 2014. There’s different methodologies of paying it in the notice the Revenue issued and if they want to refine the approach in some shape or form, I have no difficulty with that”.

Mr Shatter repeated that it wasn’t necessary to pay the tax before 2014, and he added there was “a whole range of different ways of ensuring you don’t pay it before 2014”.

The remarks come as the Oireachtas all-party Finance Committee has invited the Revenue Commissioners to appear before it to discuss their methods for collecting the residential property tax for 2014.

The chairman of the all-party Finance Committee Ciarán Lynch has written to the head of Revenue Josephine Feehily requesting her to appear before the committee to discuss the structure, timing and operation of the scheme.