These taxes are collected primarily by municipal governments on residential, industrial and commercial properties and are their main source of funding.
[4] Fianna Fáil promised to abolish domestic rates in its 1977 general election manifesto, won a landslide, and implemented this with effect from 1979.
Israel has a similar tax known as arnona that goes back to the days of the British Mandate of Palestine.
It is levied by the municipality (or, in smaller localities, by the Regional Council) based (currently) on the square meterage of dwelling or business.
In New Zealand, rates have provided the major source of revenue for territorial authorities since the late-19th century.
Māori land - particularly where ownership and therefore liability for rates are hard to establish - can also get special treatment.
Rates in the United Kingdom are a tax on property used to provide some of the funding of local government.
Business rates are collected throughout the United Kingdom, with different systems in England, in Wales, in Northern Ireland and in Scotland.
Property taxes are the prime funding method for local government (i.e., counties, cities, townships, etc.