Donegal County Council’s Local Property Tax (LPT) allocation is set to increase to almost €27.5 million next year.
The increase, to €27.4 million, is a result of LPT revaluations and is the sixth highest in the country after Dublin.
Last week, Sinn Féin’s attempt to exempt thousands of Defective Block Homeowners from having to pay the tax was voted down by the government. The amendment, tabled by Pearse Doherty TD yesterday, was voted down 64-82.
According to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, the €42 million national increase in ‘baseline funding’ will bring total allocations to €744m in 2026.
Local Property Tax ‘baselines’ are a significant indicator of the funding available to each local authority. Where a local authority’s local property tax yield is lower than the baseline, their authority is ‘topped-up’ by the exchequer to the set baseline.
Under today’s proposals by Minister Browne, each local authority’s baseline funding will be increased in line with yield expected in their area.
In addition, due to a change to the allocation model, there will be a further increase in ‘own-use’ funding for a number of authorities who take in Local Property Tax income above their baseline – they will now retain more of that income for their own use. It is expected by Government that additional money retained will be used for urban regeneration programmes and in Dublin, it will be used towards the implementation of Dublin City Taskforce recommendations.
“From the outset, I have been committed to ensuring that any additional yield earned from the Local Property Tax revaluation, goes directly to where it is needed in our local areas,” Minister Browne said.
“Local Authorities play an essential role in the delivery of services to our people and our communities, and each of them will now see an increase in funding in line with their increased yield.
“Those who are paying local property taxes deserve to see their contribution at work in their local areas and today I have made changes to ensure more locally sourced revenue is spent where it comes from.”
Tags:
