There’s been heated discussions at today’s meeting of Donegal County Council which has so far been dominated by Local Property Tax.
The Council’s Director of Finance, Richard Gibson has proposed LPT remain at 15% above the baseline as was agreed in 2019.
Members are also being asked to agree on retaining the rate for the next five years. That would be worth an additional 1.4 million euro to the Council per year.
There has been much disagreement on whether to support the increase or reduce LPT.
Sinn Fein has argued that LPT should be phased out and a new model for funding local government found.
Councillor Gary Doherty believes Local Property Tax is only lobbing another burden on people:
Councillor Patrick McGowan meanwhile, is one of a number of Councillors who are in support of retaining LPT at its current rate. He says members need to be aware of the knock-on impact of reducing the rate.
The Council’s Director of Finance has been asked to compile a list of potential projects which could be affected if LPT is reduced.
Independent Councillor, Declan Meehan says people on the ground are not seeing value for money:
The debate is being broadcast online HERE
