Rates to only apply to buildings which are used to generate income
Sports clubs will only be liable to pay commercial rates on parts of their clubhouses which house bars or shops under amended rules agreed by the Cabinet on 24th September. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin brought a memo to Government on the issue. The new rules mean community sports clubs will only be liable for rates on buildings are used to generate income.
A Department of PER statement said that:
“The amendment to the Valuation (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2012 would mean that Community Sports Clubs will only be liable for rates on buildings that are used for the generation of income. Buildings that are used for the sale of alcohol or food, retail outlets etc. will be rated but buildings that are used for community sport will be exempt. If a sports club’s only commercial facility is the bar then it is only the bar and ancillary facilities that will be rated.”
Sports club facilities are normally exempt from rates but where the club has a bar, all of its premises are valued for rates purposes, including buildings that are purely for sporting purposes.
Quoted in the Irish Times a government spokesman said: “This situation is seen as placing an unfair burden on many local clubs that are a key part of their communities…Any type of building, or part of a building, used for ‘community sport’ and not for profit and which is not used to generate income can be exempt.”
Although the new rules will not apply to Croke Park or the Aviva Stadium, no other sport facility is specifically excluded.
Read Department of Public Expenditure and Reform statement here