The Council of the European Union recently published its annual country specific recommendations for Member States. The Council calls for more effort from Ireland to make tax revenue more resilient to economic fluctuations and adverse shocks. Property tax is among the measures identified by the Commission as a growth-friendly revenue source.

The Commission notes that Irish revenues from immovable property only amounted to 1.0 percent of GDP in 2014, compared to the EU average of 1.6 percent and calls for a gradual indexation of property values to help smooth the local property tax profile by preventing a sudden increase in tax liabilities when properties are revalued in 2019. The Commission also calls for more targeted direct funding for Irish young innovative firms as an alternative to the R&D tax credit.