Removal of Landlord Allowance (draft Regulatory Impact Assessment Screening Exercise)

1. Introduction

This screening process involves scoping the policy under consideration. The purpose of policy scoping is to help prepare the background and context and set out the aims and objectives for the policy being screened. This will help identify potential constraints.

Regulation can be defined as: a rule or guidance with which failure to comply would result in the regulated entity or person coming into conflict with the law or being ineligible for continued funding, grants and other applied for schemes. This can be summarised as all measures with legal force imposed by central government and other schemes operated by central government.

The fundamental criteria is ‘will the policy have an impact (direct or indirect) on the wider business community?

2. Name of the policy

Removal of Landlord Allowance

3. Brief Description of the policy

This policy revision removes the allowance for Landlords who are either responsible, or volunteer, for rates liability for property they rent and who choose to pay their rates in one lump sum prior to a fixed date each year and does not affect the underlying tax liability. It does not affect the underlying tax liability.

4. Aims of the policy/ Rationale behind the changes

Policy forms part of NIO’s suite of revenue raising measures in the context of the wider NI Budgetary situation.

5. Impact/ Outcomes of the Policy

This policy revision removes the allowance for Landlords who are either responsible, or volunteer, for rates liability for property they rent and who choose to pay their rates in one lump sum prior to a fixed date each year and does not affect the underlying tax liability. It does not affect the underlying tax liability.

6. Conclusion

Is the policy or amendment to the policy likely to have a direct or indirect impact on businesses?

• no

Is the policy or amendment to the policy likely to have a direct or indirect impact on the voluntary / community sector?

• no

On the basis of the answers to the screening questions, I recommend that this policy / decision is –

Screened Out – No RIA necessary (no impacts on businesses).

In and of itself the allowance is available to any eligible owner/landlord who are either responsible, or volunteer, for rates liability, via payment before the outlined date.

The uptake varies from year to year and there is no accounting benefit to the Department in relation to the date of receipt of liabilities. Fundamentally there is no change to the underlying tax liability.