LPT central to allocation argument

IN TERMS of central control of local taxes, the LPT is a case in point. The Government department with responsibility for local government decides the allocations.

In 2016, each local authority was allocated 80pc of LPT collected locally, while 20pc was redistributed among those with a low population base.

In a press release concerning the LPT allocations in 2015, the then Department of the Environment let the cat out of the bag when it stated that the LPT would, among other things, “provide Government with more options in terms of other taxation and expenditure policies in our future budgets”.