Possible €7.5m windfall from unpaid ‘second homes’ tax penalties

There is a potential €7.5 million windfall ‘waiting in the wings’ for Galway City Council from landlords and holiday home owners who have never paid the second homes tax.

And the message to them from the local authority is: “You may not fear us, but you will fear the Revenue”.

Based on Census figures, it’s estimated that there may be more than 2,100 homes on which the €200 ‘Non-Principal Private Residence’ has never been paid, since the levy was introduced in 2009.

Each of those properties is now liable for a payment (including penalties) of €3,520, amounting to a total of more than €7.5 million.

Those who have not paid have been warned they face late payment fees, penalties, and even an audit by the Revenue.

A spokesperson for the City Council told the Galway City Tribune: “Do not allow arrears to build up. It creates a charge on your property, so it cannot be sold until the NPPR is paid. If you have avoided ever paying the NPPR, you are now liable for €3,520.

“People are gaining an awareness of this, and the fact that Revenue will come after this debt. The threat of Revenue is concentrating minds. You may not fear us, but you will fear the Revenue,” the spokesperson said.

Of the 12,364 people who paid the €200 levy in Galway City in 2012, a total of 8,790 had paid by last Wednesday evening . . . almost 600 more than had done so by this time last year.

However, based on recent Census figures, there may be more than 14,500 homes in the city that are liable for the NPPR – 10,523 rented properties and a further 3,984 lying empty.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune