Properties on Taylor’s Hill are worth the same as those in the Westside and Shantalla, according to Revenue’s new valuations website for the Local Property Tax – even though they would realistically fetch at least three times as much on the open market.
The website has been branded “quite poor” by local auctioneers, because it fails to recognise significant differences in valuations between different parts of the city.
And it shows the most expensive homes in Galway are located in the centre of Salthill, in an area south of Taylor’s Hill, bounded by Threadneedle Road, Upper Salthill Road and Dalysfort Road.
This week, Revenue will be writing out to the 27,700 liable households in Galway City with ‘return’ forms asking the homeowner to provide a valuation for their property and to calculate the LPT due, as well as a guide to the valuation system.
However, the LPT website has ‘lumped together’ vast geographic areas, leaving large parts of the city with unrealistic valuations.
Niall Browne of O’Donnellan & Joyce Auctioneers told the Connacht Sentinel: “The site is quite poor. The similarities in the colour coding for the various bands could cause confusion.
“Also, there are areas included in the one band where there should be significant differences. Take part of Taylor’s Hill – Galway’s most sought-after address – being in the same band as Westside and Shantalla. That’s just not realistic. They [Revenue] have a very long way to go before they get this right. They’re going to be a long time ironing this out,” said Mr Browne.
Any homeowners whose property is undervalued by Revenue can take advantage of the lower rate – however, when they go to sell the home, they will be liable for any underpayments and will be forced to ‘square up’ with Revenue.
