‘Raise taxes to stop builders hoarding valuable vacant land’

THE LEVY on vacant land should rise to 15% Sinn Féin has said, as figures reveal the scheme to stop builders hoarding land took in just €21,000 last year.

The Government plans to transfer handling of the new Zoned Land Tax to the Revenue Commissioners in 2024 and to reduce the current 7% rate to 3%.

However, Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the vacant site levy should be increased and responsibility transferred to the Revenue Commissioners immediately. Commenting on the Government’s plans, Deputy O’Broin said: ‘The rate of tax under the new scheme is lower than the current 7%.

‘We would argue it has to be 15%, it has to be punitive to change behaviour. The levy should have simply been immediately transferred it to the Revenue.’

The Zoned Land Tax will replace the vacant site levy, which was introduced as another flagship action but has fallen into disrepute after it was revealed more than one in three councils across the country failed to raise a single cent in derelict site levies in 2019.

Dáil questions from Independent TD Michael McNamara also revealed the levy brought in just €21,000 last year and that there was a pattern of non-payment of the levy since 2018.

Owners of land listed on vacant site registers on January 1, 2018 were liable to pay a levy of 3% of its market value, rising to 7% in 2019. It was hoped at the time of introduction that the levy would release up to 18,000 derelict sites across the country for development.

However, in 2019, 12 councils, including the vast local authority area of Fingal in West Dublin, did not impose a single vacant site levy. It was also revealed that four more county councils imposed levies of less than €10,000. These were Kilkenny (€5,250), Offaly (€3,335), Louth (€2,235) and Mayo (€1,000).

Separately, it was revealed that outstanding levy amounts due on derelict sites had risen to €8,163,159 in 2020 – with

the highest amount, €2,149,309, owed to Dublin City Council.