A Google maps system is being used to track Local Property Tax (LPT) payments across the State, the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard.
Revenue Commissioners chairman Niall Cody told the committee a “geo-coded Google maps system” was being used by LPT representatives to track valuation of properties and non-payment of the tax.
Mr Cody told the Committee 47,000 out of the of the 1.95 million properties registered for LPT had no identifiable owner.
However, LPT compliance rates for 2013 and 2014 were 97 per cent, while the compliance rate for 2015 stood at 96 per cent.
“The introduction of the local property tax was the largest extension of a self-assessment system in the history of the State,” he told the PAC.
Revenue has collected in excess of €1 billion in LPT since 2013, €45 million of which went to the household charge.
Mr Cody said the “minority” of property owners who had failed to meet the LPT collections faced a range of “debt collection and enforcement options”.
Since 2013, Revenue has issued approximately 600,000 warning letters, deducted payment from salaries or pensions in over 140,000 cases, refused tax clearance certificates in about 29,000 cases and imposed surcharges in about 19,000 cases.
Revenue referred more than 1,000 cases to the sheriff for collection and to date no LPT cases have been referred to court action.
Mr Cody said one of the main challenges faced in enforcing the LPT on properties across the state was the existence of “non-unique addresses”.
“In country areas you have different variations of the address where an address and name could be slightly different. Each case has to be eyeballed to see if the property is actually a real property and see if there’s an ownership.”
Mr Cody told the Committee about 600 requests for exemptions from the LPT had been refused, saying many invalid claims arose in “mixed estates” where the line between homes that were exempt and non-exempt was unclear.
“I can safely say we don’t see any evidence that people have set out to claim the exemption.”
He said Revenue was looking to set up a compliance valuation team to find out whether people were content with their home’s valuation.
Asked by Labour’s Joe Costello whether a plan was in place for the next valuation process beginning in 2016, Mr Cody said the LPT act would provide for reevaluation from November 1st, 2016.
Mr Cody also spoke about Revenue’s recent activities in the area of illicit smuggling of fuel and cigarettes.
He told the Committee €250 million had been lost to the exchequer due to duty not being paid on illicit tobacco.
He said Revenue had made a “serious dent” in fuel laundering but warned that attempts to successfully curb the illicit fuel market must be implemented both north and south of the border.
