Holiday home tax could add €600,000 to council coffers

The Government's new €200 tax on holiday homes or second properties could yield an estimated €600,000 additional revenue for Westmeath County Council this year, it's emerged this week. Although that figure is much less than the €1 million tax take which figures provided by the Central Statistics Office earlier suggested, council officials expect that it could rise to €900,000 in 2010. Head of Finance in Westmeath County Council Eddie Hynes said the council believes there is between 5,000-6,000 units in Westmeath liable for the €200 a year tax, which would amount to €1 million. However, within these figures, many units will be exempt from the charge for a variety of reasons and this will take a while to figure out with "more research". "Our expectation is that we'll collect €600,000 in 2009 and by 2010 that could push up to €900,000," he said. "The public has August and September to pay the charge, then there is a free month before the penalties start in November, which will be €20 per month per property after that," Mr Hynes outlined, pointing out that the local authority has information on about 4,500 cases liable to pay the charge and they are working on the remainder at present. The Local Government Charges Act 2009 only passed into law last month introduced a €200 annual tax on non principal private residences, payable by the owners to the local authority in whose area the property concerned is located. Owners of residential rental properties, holiday homes, and vacant residential properties will be liable for the fee, while those in Rental Accommodation Scheme (RÁS), so-called granny flats and mobile homes escape the €200 charge per annum. According to figures in the latest Census back in 2006, there were 271 holiday homes in Westmeath along with 4,744 vacant houses and flats, bringing the projected total revenue to over €1.003 million. In Roscommon, the census shows holiday home were more numerous standing at 942, with another 4,947 vacant houses and flats in the county, a total that could amount to €1.17 million for the local authority. Eddie Hynes urged anyone with a second home or holiday home to look up www.nppr.ie, a website set up for all local authorities for the public to learn the details of the scheme and pay the tax as soon as possible. "We are trying to get everyone to go through that system, you can do it all online. It's akin to, and as simple as, paying your motor tax online," he said, otherwise a form is available in each local authority office. "Don't leave it on the long finger. We will be following it up, the penalties come in November, and along with fines, if someone is taken to court they could be liable to pay up to €2,000," he concluded.