Despite Richard Shakespeare, the chief executive of the council, advocating for a 15% hike in property tax, homeowners in Dublin will not be faced with escalated property tax bills in the forthcoming year. Yet, it’s predicted that 2025 will signal the end of local property tax (LPT) deductions for Dublin people, leading to potential increases from 2026 onward.
The basis of the tax hinges on a property’s worth and allows annual rate adjustments, of up to 15%, to be made by councillors. Since its inauguration in 2013, Dublin city councillors have consistently opted for the most substantial reduction. Post local elections in June, a fresh voting coalition comprised of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, The Green Party and Labour consented to terminate the deduction.
According to the pact among these political parties, the increase will not commence prior to the general election and councillors linked to these parties are free to vote on the 2025 LPT levy. Following this, the standard rate will be imposed for years 2 to 5 of the existing council term.
Faced with the current financial status of the council, Mr. Shakespeare had encouraged councillors to reassess their tax stance. In his view, by maintaining the reduction from the basic rate, they were foregoing over €15 million that could be allocated to services in 2025. “This funding can be invested into the enhancement of our street cleaning services and the services supplied in our public spaces”, he noted.
For nearly 75% of homeowners, the maximum additional amount payable would equate to €61 yearly, or €1.18 weekly. For over 37% of these homes, valued for LPT at €262,500 or under, the upper limit of the extra amount would be €34 annually, or 65 cents weekly.
Mr Shakespeare’s proposition to implement the base rate was backed by the Green Party, Labour, and Social Democrats. However, it was opposed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Independents, and People Before Profit, who supported maintaining the full 15 per cent discount. Sinn Féin’s Séamas McGrattan criticised the LPT as a family home tax. On the other hand, Michael Pidgeon from the Green party opined that the decreased 15 per cent rate predominantly favours the wealthy, while doing little for tenants or those in social accommodation. A Dublin council conducted a survey indicating that 68.7 per cent of the city’s households favoured maintaining the discount rate.