Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 section 144

Inspection of records relating to deduction at source

Section 144 gives Revenue the power to inspect records held by employers, the Department of Social Protection, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to the deduction of local property tax at source.

• Revenue may inspect records relating to the deduction of local property tax (LPT) at source, using the same inspection powers that apply to PAYE emoluments records under section 903 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
• The records subject to inspection are those held by employers (who deduct LPT from employees' net pay), the Department of Social Protection (who deduct LPT from social welfare payments), and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (who deduct LPT from certain agricultural payments).
• Any Revenue officer carrying out an inspection under this section must be specifically authorised in writing by the Revenue Commissioners before exercising these powers.
• An authorised officer must, if asked, produce evidence of their written authorisation when carrying out an inspection.