Sir, – There has been significant comment and speculation in the media recently including an Irish Times Editorial (August 26th) regarding the amount of commercial rates likely to be payable by businesses in Dublin city in 2014 and beyond.
The total rates sum raised by Dublin City Council in 2013 was €341 million approximately, paid for by all rateable businesses in the city. The total annual cost of running the city is €811 million approximately; the balance is covered by earned income such as fees, rents and other charges, along with a central government grant of €50 million approximately.
There is a legal prohibition in the Valuation Acts precluding all local authorities from generating additional rates income in the year following the revaluation over and or above the figure generated in the previous year; Dublin City rates income is effectively capped at €341 million for 2014 and if matters follow the same pattern as our sister Dublin counties we can expect to lose a few million in 2014. As a result of this independent revaluation there will of course be some properties that pay more rates and some that pay less rates; again the experience in the surrounding Dublin counties was that between 50 per cent and 65 per cent of businesses paid less.
The rates payable by any business is calculated by multiplying two variables: 1. the rateable valuation of the individual property. 2. The annual rate in the euro set by the council for a specific year.
The rateable valuation of all commercial properties is set by the valuation office in a process that is totally independent of the City Council.
Over the past few years the Valuation Office updated the valuations of all commercial properties in the three surrounding Dublin county councils, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, and this year it is the turn of Dublin City Council to be re-valued.
The current 2013 total valuation of the city is €5.6 million approximately and the rate in the euro is €60.88, which multiplied gives the total rates yield of €341 million approximately.
So contrary to the assertion in the Irish Times Editorial that "certainly it will raise significant revenue for the council", it certainly will not raise a single extra euro and almost certainly there will be a material loss of income to the city of at least at few millions..
No calculations are yet done for the 2014 Budget and the rate in the euro has not been determined yet and it cannot be for 2014 until the Valuation Office completes its task; any suggested increases in rates bills can only be speculative, particularly as with the total revaluation of the city, all valuation are expected to increase, but as stated above there must be a compensating reduction in the rate in the euro so that the City only gets (at most) the same rates income as in 2013.
Finally, to answer the question posed at the start of your Editorial, City Council has a Jobs Strategy for the city. We have successively cut our rate in the euro for each of the last four years with the specific intention of reducing the burden on business.
However, the city must continue to be invested in if it is to be attractive to visit, work in and live in. The retail and hospitality sectors are particularly important to the city, but continued spend and investment such as the €10 million refurbishment of Grafton Street is required if the city is to prosper and the region is to continue to attract foreign direct investment.
With the imminent inclusion of the Local Enterprise Offices into City Council, we will be expanding our activity in the employment sphere. We are already working through the Creative Dublin Alliance with the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, government agencies and academia on promoting business enterprise including streamlining the start-up scenario for new businesses; and working with Google, Facebook and Paypal helping businesses have an effective online marketing presence; it is intended that this initiative will be mainstreamed across the country in the coming months.
Dublin City Council will continue to work with business to foster growth in employment and enterprise; without such growth the social, cultural, sporting and family life of the city can only suffer with stagnation and emigration. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP MAGUIRE
Dublin City Manager,
Civic Offices,
Wood Quay, Dublin 8.