Madam, – I have just made payment of the non-principal private residence (NPPR) tax in respect of two properties we own in the State. If I am the only person in the country to have done so I would not be surprised.
This must be the most poorly-advertised tax in history. Not only has there been little or no publicity on when or how to pay, but I have received no correspondence or an invoice from either of the two local authorities in whose areas we own property.
A chance reading of a press article last weekend advising that the tax should be paid by September 30th caused me to Google this tax and find a link to the user-unfriendly NPPR website.
After a series of pointless questions, verifications and passwords, I was told that the house my family lives in does not apparently exist and neither does one of our rental properties.
I have online bank accounts that require less security to access, so for payment of a €200 tax the measures seem excessive.
There are clearly savings to be made in terms of ridding ourselves of whoever made decisions on the design and security of the website. The money would have been far better spent on advertising the tax so that people are aware of where, when and how it should be paid. – Yours, etc,