Agenda Item 13 MEETING OF DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL 11 DECEMBER 2017 REPORT ON LOCAL PROPERTY TAX INCOME The following motion was agreed at the Council meeting held on 11 November 2017: “To ask the Chief Executive to provide a report on the additional revenue that could have accrued to DLRCOCO if the amount paid to the equalisation fund was calculated of the total LPT monies to be collected net of the percentage reduction adopted by the Council for the following years 20104, 20105, 2016 & 2017.” Report: The legislative provisions in relation to Local Property Tax (LPT) are contained in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013 & the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013. Section 157 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides that “In each financial year commencing in the year 2014, the Minister shall pay into the Local Government Fund an amount equivalent to the local property tax (including any interest paid thereon) paid into the Central Fund during that year”. Disbursements from the local government fund to individual Local Authorities are determined by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government in accordance with Section 6 of the Local Government Fund Act 1998. Prior to the introduction of LPT local authorities received discretionary funding from the Local Government Fund (LGF) to supplement revenue account income. At the time LGF income was a significant element of funding particularly in rural counties with a low commercial rates base. LPT was first introduced in July 2013 but normal funding arrangements for local authorities continued to apply until 2015. Irish Water was established on 1/1/2014 and that year expenditure associated with the provision of water services was transferred from local authorities’ budgets to Irish Water with a corresponding reduction in LGF income. Since 2015 local authorities retain 80% of the Local Property Tax receipts collected in their area and the remaining 20% of the amount collected is transferred to an equalisation fund to ensure that no local authority is worse off as a result of the local retention of LPT compared to the Local Government Fund allocation received by them in 2014. Where the amount of LPT income collected exceeds the LGF allocation in 2014 a further 20%, circa €10.5m, of the LPT income collected is allocated as additional discretionary income. If the basic rate is varied downwards by the Council the cost of the variation is funded from this discretionary element of the allocation. DLR’s local government fund allocation in 2014 was €5.7m but the LPT income collected amounts to circa €53m. Accordingly 20% of the amount collected in DLR goes to the equalisation fund, a further 20% is allocated as additional discretionary income and the remainder replaces various revenue and capital grants received previously, including the LGF.
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