DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED in collecting the new household charge has convinced a growing number of Ministers that the Revenue Commissioners should take responsibility for the full property tax when it is introduced next year.
The Cabinet will receive a full briefing at its weekly meeting today on the outcome of the campaign to get an estimated 1.8 million homes to self-register for the new €100 tax. Despite a late surge, only about half the liable households paid the fee leaving a shortfall of between €80 million and €100 million.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan is in Brussels today. In his absence, Ministers will discuss new strategies to ensure all households register and pay, including Mr Hogan’s plans to “incentivise” local authorities. He has proposed coming up with a system that rewards county and city councils that “pull out all the stops to collect the charge”.
The agency with responsibility for collating the data said an estimated 832,458 properties had been registered as of last night. The Local Government Management Agency said the results included projected figures of 106,000 for unopened postal registrations as well as a small number of late registrations that had attracted an €11 penalty.
The overall number could rise slightly over the next few days as there is a “grace period” until the end of the week for registrations posted over the weekend, bearing postmarks for yesterday’s date.
The Government claimed a figure of more than 50 per cent compliance but that was strongly disputed by anti-household charge campaigners. Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party said the true percentage was closer to 40 per cent.
Coalition Ministers emphasised yesterday that the Government would have to proceed cautiously with the next phase of the campaign.
One senior source said many Ministers were coming to the view that the full property tax should become the responsibility of Revenue, with the charge for the property being deducted from income.
“The lesson we learned is that self-registration has had mixed results and Revenue should take control of deciding who is liable, and collecting the tax,” said the source.
Another ministerial source expressed concern about the dangers of an aggressive campaign to collect the tax. “The referendum on the fiscal compact is coming up and the Government should not do anything to antagonise people. An in-your-face campaign would not be helpful,” said the source.
Minister of State Róisín Shortall accepted mistakes had been made. “There is a need now to take stock, to see where people haven’t been making the payment, and why they haven’t been making the payment,” she told RTÉ.
One Minister, speaking privately, described the campaign as a “total disaster” with no buy-in from councils. Another Minister admitted the self-declaration aspect of it had “not been a success”. However, a third Minister said that the late surge had averted a disaster.
“The fact that half have registered can allow us to say that the majority of people have paid their share,” said this Minister.
There has been limited information made available on compliance rates, with Dublin authorities scoring highly and Border councils, such as Donegal, reporting rates as low as 25 per cent.
Mr Hogan’s plan to reward councils that achieve a high compliance rate is at a very early stage and details are expected to be worked out over the coming weeks.
