CALL FOR PROPERTY TAX TO BE BASED ON SIZE NOT VALUE - Property tax should be based on the size of a property and not its value, contributors to a recent consultation on the future of the tax have argued.
In submissions to the Department of Finance, contributors also called for a credit for those who have paid stamp duty on a property in the 10 years prior to the introduction of the tax, as well as a reduction in the tax for apartment owners who have paid their management fee in full. Earlier this year, the Department of Finance ran a consultation on the property tax, in conjunction with a review by Dr Don Thornhill. The consultation attracted about 40 submissions which have now been published in full on the Department’s website, says the Irish Times. The consultation was carried out before this year’s budget, in which Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said he would postpone the revaluation date for the property tax until 2019. Previously, properties were due to be revalued in 2016 and a common theme in many of the submissions was a fear of the impact of a revaluation of the tax, which is levied at a rate of 0.18% on the property’s value. Given the increase in property prices since the tax was introduced in 2013, particularly in Dublin, many feared an impending revaluation date would significantly increase the tax.
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MOODY'S WARNS BUDGET DISCIPLINE IS NOW KEY RISK TO IRISH RECOVERY - The as yet unknown budgetary policies of the next government represent the key risk to Ireland's public finances, analysts at Moody's have warned.
Moody's, the last of the big credit agencies not to have returned Ireland to a top-rated "A" credit status, is now unlikely to move the Irish sovereign's rating before May next year - well after a new administration is in place, writes the Irish Independent. "The key risk (to Irish finances) is the fiscal policy of the next Government. We will monitor any indications of a return to boom era policies," Moody's sovereign rating analyst for Ireland, Kathrin Muehlbronner, said yesterday. The comments contain an echo of last week's warning from the Fiscal Advisory Council, that the mix of taxing and spending within Ireland, rather than external forces, are now the most potent factor in the economy here. "We would be concerned to see any indications of pre-crisis policies begin to re-emerge. I don't think we have seen that so far," Ms Muehlbronner said. Under new European rules each of the main rating agencies now works to a pre-set calendar when they revise national ratings. The dates are not published in advance, but it is understood January and May 2016 are pencilled in as the times Moody's will make any Irish changes. January falls close to the election so a change in Ireland's rating is not likely until May.
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KNOCK AIRPORT FIRM CONNAUGHT AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT POSTS LOSS BEFORE STATE SUBVENTION - The company that operates Ireland West Airport Knock recorded a pre-tax loss of €536,618 last year - before it received its Government subvention.
Connaught Airport Development Co Ltd had its busiest ever year, with a record 703,000 passengers - an increase of 6% on 2013. The new accounts show that after the State funding, the airport recorded a modest pre-tax profit of €11,982 compared to a net loss of €5,132, in 2013. Total turnover increased marginally to €14.1 million, helped by its commercial, retail, car parking and other services, says the Irish Examiner. Last year, it received a total of €2.47m in Government funding which went to fund operations as well as capital expenditure. The level of this year’s subvention is due be completed in the coming weeks. The airport serves 20 international destinations, including 14 scheduled services. The pre-tax loss last year takes account of hefty non-cash depreciation costs of €1.73m. A spokesman for the airport yesterday said that the current year has been a good one, largely due to the strength of sterling and the success of the Wild Atlantic Way campaign for which the airport is the main western gateway.
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STANDARD BANK'S UK DIVISION WILL PAY 25M FINE TO SETTLE BRIBERY CASE - The British arm of South Africa’s Standard Bank will pay a $25.2m fine to settle accusations of bribery as part of the Serious Fraud Office’s first deferred prosecution agreement.
As part of a co-ordinated global settlement, the bank will pay a further $4.2m to settle charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it failed to disclose certain payments in connection with debt issued by the Government of Tanzania in 2013. Lord Justice Leveson, sitting at the High Court, said he would approve the agreement involving Standard Bank, which had failed to prevent bribery in a Tanzanian subsidiary between June 2012 and March 2013. The case is also the first prosecution for the SFO of a company under the 2010 Bribery Act, says the Financial Times. The bank will pay $6m to the Tanzanian government, plus interest of just over $1m, and £330,000 in costs to the SFO. The deal marks a UK milestone: it is the first of its kind to strike a new form of plea deal in order to avoid prosecution, a tool that is commonly used in the US. A DPA is a court-approved deal where a company admits wrongdoing, pays a fine and agrees to various other compliance measures. The tool was introduced to the UK last year.
