Cough Up Kids! Children Sent Property Tax Demands By Irish Revenue

This week, Revenue officials are sending hundreds of thousands of letters to homeowners regarding the property tax. However, flaws in the datatbase have resulted in children receiving the letters as well as adults.

Some minors have received a notice seeking payment despite the fact that they are still attending school and do not own a property, according to the Irish Independent. Unfortunately, the system is not picking up the names by property owners, but rather by those paying tax.

One particular mother told the newspaper that even though her child is just 15 and is currently holding down a part time job, she was the individual who was sent the letter demanding the tax. The mother commented: “"I contacted Revenue, saying it was ridiculous, and that the letter should be addressed to the owner of the property. I was told that was what the database was turning out. How is a database sending out letters to children who aren't paying the mortgage?"

After making further enquiries, she discovered her daughter was not the only child in the area that had received a letter.

The Revenue replied to the queries by stating: “"As there is no complete register of residential properties in the State, Revenue has had to compile the register from various sources, meaning there will be some errors in our records and a very small minority of individuals will receive a letter in error."

The Revenue Commissioners are sending out at total of 1.6 million letters and have asked that if there are any errors, to contact a taxman immediately.