The legislation which will apply a €200 euro charge to residential properties which are not the principal private residence of the owner has been published by the Department of the Environment. This charge was first announced in the October Budget.

The Local Government Charges Bill sets out the scope of the charge, which generally will be collected by, and paid to, the various local authorities – county and city councils. The target properties are rental, holiday and certain vacant residential properties. The liability falls on the “owner”, who essentially is the recipient of any rents, or who would be the person receiving any rents if rents were due.

The charge will essentially be a self assessment tax, with late payment penalties but not, apparently, interest charges. Many of the usual mechanics for collection and enforcement of taxes apply.

The role of the Revenue Commissioners in all this would seem to be limited to information sharing with the local authorities for enforcement purposes. Information will also be obtained from the Private Residential Tenancies Board. In an unusual provision, powers are granted to obtain information from the Electricity Supply Board. As the Explanatory Memorandum puts it, “The ESB hold data in relation to the amount of electricity used by domestic users, and some of this data may be useful in identifying properties which may be holiday homes or vacant and, therefore, liable for the charge.”

There are several exemptions to the charge, but few of these will have widespread application. Perhaps the most important of these is that single properties with multiple tenants will be liable to a single charge, provided that each tenant has their own bedroom.

The Bill was introduced in the Seanad, and it is not clear if it will be enacted during the current Oireachtas term. The Bill overall, even when enacted, will be subject to a commencement order.

The full text, along with the Explanatory Memorandum, may be found at http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=12202&&CatID=59.