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Local Property Tax (LPT) bills for Dublin City homeowners will not increase next year, despite pleas from the city council administration for an increase to help offset the “devastating” financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The council’s chief executive, Owen Keegan, and his chief financial officer, Kathy Quinn, called on councilors to increase the tax by 30 percent over this year’s rate to generate 24 million euros to help cap a 39 million euro hole in the council’s finances.
The proposal would have seen the average annual fee increase by more than € 120 from € 344 to € 465 for homeowners in the city. However, councilors voted 34-21 to keep the tax at the current rate.
Councilors have the power to increase or decrease the rate charged in their area by up to 15 percent each year from the base rate, which is calculated based on the value of a property.
Fianna Fáil, the Green Party, Labor and Social Democrats formed a ruling group on the council after last year’s local elections, but the group failed to reach a consensus on the LPT rate. The Greens and Labor proposed a 5 percent increase above the base rate and the Social Democrats proposed that the base rate be maintained, without the 15 percent cut.
However, Fianna Fáil sided with Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Independientes in voting for the 15 percent cut, which has been applied every year since the tax was introduced in 2013.
The council expects Covid-19 to cost it about 41 million euros this year, Ms Quinn said, with costs including expenses on the Dublin Fire Brigade’s ambulance service, homeless services and protective gear. personal.
In addition to the loss of revenue from commercial fees, he said, the city council also expected a reduction of 20 million euros from lost revenue from parking, planning fees and home rentals.
The council had taken cost-saving measures to make up for these losses, Ms. Quinn said, but it was still facing a € 39 million hole in its budget and it was unclear whether the government would provide more funding.
He had urged councilors to consider the “devastating impact on municipal services, if we are to find a savings of 39 million euros.”
Mr. Keegan said, “The need for additional resources has never been more relevant in terms of the absolute need for additional funding to support services, as opposed to the minimal impact of change on households.”
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