Finance Act , 1929

PART I. Income Tax.

1 Income Tax and sur-tax for the year 192930.

1.—(1) Income Tax shall be charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1929, at the rate of three shillings in the pound.

(2) Sur-tax shall be charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1929, at the same rates as those at which it was charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1928.

(3) The several statutory and other provisions which were in force during the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1928, in relation to income tax and sur-tax shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have effect in relation to the income tax and the sur-tax to be charged as aforesaid for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1929.

2 Debentures, etc., of The Agricultural Credit Corporation, Limited.

2.—(1) Debentures, debenture stock, and certificates of charge issued by The Agricultural Credit Corporation, Limited, shall be deemed to be securities issued under the authority of the Minister for Finance within the meaning of section 2 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924), and that section shall apply accordingly.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph (l) of Rule 3 of the Rules applicable to Cases I and II of Schedule D of the Income Tax Act, 1918, or in Rules 19, 20 and 21 of the General Rules applicable to Schedules A, B, C, D and E of the said Act, in computing for the purposes of assessment under the said Schedule D the amount of the profits or gains of The Agricultural Credit Corporation, Limited, for any period for which accounts are made up there shall be allowed as a deduction the amount of the interest on debentures, debenture stock and certificates of charge which, by direction of the Minister for Finance given under section 2 of the Finance Act, 1924, as applied by this section, is paid without deduction of tax for such period.

(3) There shall be added to Rule I of Case III of Schedule D of the Income Tax Act, 1918, the following clause, that is to say:—

“(h) interest on debentures, debenture stock or certificates of charge issued by The Agricultural Credit Corporation, Limited, in cases where such interest is paid without deduction of tax.”

(4) In this section the expression “certificate of charge” has the same meaning as it has in the Agricultural Credit Act, 1927 (No. 24 of 1927.)

3 Assessments under Schedules A and B.

3.—(1) Assessments under Schedules A and B of the Income Tax Act, 1918—

(a) shall be made by the inspectors of taxes or such other officers as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf, and

(b) shall be made for and comprise the respective premises which are situate in an administrative county, county borough, county district, or such other district as the said Commissioners shall direct.

(2) When assessments under Schedules A and B shall have been made the Revenue Commissioners shall cause notice thereof and of the time allowed for giving notice of appeal to be given in such manner as they shall deem expedient.

(3) Any such notice may be given—

(a) by publishing in the Iris Oifigiúil, and in at least two daily newspapers published in Saorstát Eireann, a notice that the assessments are deposited with the inspectors of taxes for the respective districts for inspection by the person assessed, and stating the time allowed for giving notice of appeal against the said assessments, or

(b) by causing to be delivered to each person assessed a notification of the amount of his assessment and of the time allowed for giving notice of appeal.

(4) This section shall have effect in respect of any assessment made after the passing of this Act in relation to tax chargeable for any year of assessment whether beginning before or after the passing of this Act.

4 Assessments under Schedules D and E.

4.—(1) Assessments under Schedules D and E of the Income Tax Act, 1918, except—

(a) such assessments as the Special Commissioners are empowered to make under section 124 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, or under Rule 7 of the Miscellaneous Rules applicable to Schedule D of the said Act, or under Rule 7 of the Rules applicable to Schedule E of the said Act, and

(b) assessments to which section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, applies, and

(c) such assessments as officers or persons appointed by the Revenue Commissioners are empowered to make under sub-section (3) of section 11 of the Finance Act, 1923 (No. 21 of 1923),

shall be made by the inspectors of taxes or such other officers as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf.

(2) The inspector of taxes shall give due notice to each person assessed, of every such assessment made by him, and the amount thereof, and of the time allowed for giving notice of appeal against the same.

(3) This section shall have effect in respect of any assessment made after the passing of this Act in relation to tax chargeable for any year of assessment whether beginning before or after the passing of this Act.

5 Appeals against assessments to income tax.

5.—(1) A person aggrieved by any assessment to income tax made upon him by the inspector of taxes or such other officer as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf shall be entitled to appeal to the Special Commissioners on giving, within twenty-one days after the date of the notice of assessment or of the notice under section 3 of this Act that assessments have been made (as the case may be), notice in writing to the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid or, in the case of an assessment under section 124 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, to the Clerk to the Special Commissioners.

(2) The Special Commissioners shall appoint the times and places for hearing appeals against the assessments, and the Clerk to the Special Commissioners shall give notice to the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid of such times and places and the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid shall give notice to each person who has given notice of appeal and has not withdrawn such notice of appeal of the time and place appointed for the hearing of his appeal.

(3) If before the time fixed for the hearing of an appeal, an agreement shall have been made between the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid and the person assessed or his duly authorised agent in relation to the assessment the subject matter of the appeal, the assessment may be amended accordingly by the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid, and the notice of appeal shall then be treated as having been withdrawn and such amended assessment shall have the same force and effect as if it were an assessment in respect of which no notice of appeal had been given.

(4) All appeals against assessments to income tax shall be heard and determined by the Special Commissioners, and their determination on any such appeal shall be final and conclusive, unless the person assessed requires that his appeal shall be reheard under section 196 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, or unless under that Act a case is required to be stated for the opinion of the High Court.

(5) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Act, an appeal against an assessment which is heard after the passing of this Act may be heard and determined by one Special Commissioner.

(6) In default of notice of appeal by a person to whom notice of assessment has been given or in case of the neglect or refusal of a person, who has given notice of appeal, to attend before the Special Commissioners at the time and place appointed for the purpose of hearing appeals, the assessment made on him shall be final and conclusive.

(7) If it is shown by application in writing to the satisfaction of the Special Commissioners that, owing to absence, sickness or other reasonable cause, any person has been prevented from giving notice of appeal in due time or from attending at the hearing of an appeal on the day fixed for that purpose, they may extend the time for giving notice of appeal or postpone the hearing of his appeal for such reasonable time as they think necessary or may admit the appeal to be made by any agent authorised on his behalf.

(8) Sub-section (2) of section 10 of the Finance Act, 1927 (No. 18 of 1927), shall be construed and have effect as if a reference to sub-section (7) of this section were substituted for the reference therein contained to sub-section (3) of section 136 of the Income Tax Act, 1918.

(9) Every re-hearing of an appeal by the Circuit Court under section 196 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, shall be held in camera, and every hearing by the High Court or the Supreme Court of a case stated under section 149 of the said Act or under that section as extended by section 10 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924) shall, if the person whose chargeability to tax is the subject of the case so desires, be held in camera.

(10) This section shall have effect in relation to tax chargeable for any year of assessment whether beginning before or after the passing of this Act, and shall apply with the necessary modifications to appeals against assessments to super-tax and sur-tax.

6 Granting of allowance, deduction, or relief.

6.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 202 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, or in any other enactment of the Income Tax Acts, the inspector of taxes or such other officer as aforesaid when making any assessment or amending under sub-section (3) of section 5 of this Act any assessment may grant any allowance, deduction or relief authorised by the Income Tax Acts.

(2) This section shall have effect in respect of any assessment made after the passing of this Act in relation to tax chargeable for any year of assessment whether beginning before or after the passing of this Act.

7 Amendment of statutory forms by the Revenue Commissioners.

7.—It shall be lawful for the Revenue Commissioners from time to time to make such amendments of the forms of declarations, lists and statements contained in the Fourth and Fifth Schedules to the Income Tax Act, 1918, as appear to them to be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the Income Tax Acts.

PART II. Change of Basis of Assessment to Income Tax.

8 Assessment of certain properties under Case I. of Schedule D.

8.—(1) Save as is otherwise provided by this section, income tax in respect of the property in the lands, tenements, hereditaments or heritages mentioned in the first column of Part I of the First Schedule to this Act shall be chargeable under the Case of Schedule D mentioned in the second column of the said Part I of the said First Schedule, and the Rules applicable to such case as amended by this Act shall apply accordingly, but subject to the provisions contained in the third column of the said Part I of the said First Schedule.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, sections 37 and 39 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, and section 30 of the Finance Act, 1921 (which provide for giving relief from income tax to certain charities, friendly societies and other bodies) shall be construed and have effect as if any income tax chargeable by virtue of this section under Schedule D instead of under Schedule A had remained chargeable under Schedule A.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, in any case in which it appears to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary or proper any lands, tenement, hereditament, or heritage to which sub-section (1) of this section applies may be assessed and charged under No. 1 of Schedule A.

9 Assessment under Schedule D on profits of preceding year.

9.—(1) Such enactments in the Income Tax Acts as provide that income tax under Schedule D shall in certain cases be computed on the full amount of the balance of the profits or gains, upon an average of three years or less than three years, shall cease to have effect, and any income tax in respect of profits or gains chargeable under Case I. or under Case II. of Schedule D, which would but for this section have been computed as aforesaid shall subject to the provisions of this Act and to the subsequent provisions of this section, be computed on the full amount of the profits or gains of the year preceding the year of assessment.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-section, any person chargeable with income tax in respect of the profits or gains of any trade, profession, or vocation which has been set up or commenced within the year preceding the year of assessment shall be charged on the full amount of the profits or gains for one year from the time of such setting up or commencement, but shall be entitled, on giving notice in writing to the inspector of taxes within twelve months after the end of the year of assessment, to be charged to income tax on the amount of the profits or gains of the year of assessment.

(3) This section shall not apply for the purposes of the computation of profits or gains chargeable under Case VI. of Schedule D or according to the Rules applicable to that Case, but Rule 2 of those Rules shall be amended so as to provide that the computation of profits or gains so chargeable shall in no case be made according to an average of a period greater than one year.

10 Income chargeable under Case III. of Schedule D.

10.—(1) Save as is hereinafter otherwise provided, income or profits chargeable under Case III. of Schedule D, as added to by section 11 of this Act, shall, for all the purposes of ascertaining liability to income tax, be deemed to issue from a single source, and the provisions of section 17 of the Finance Act, 1922, shall apply accordingly.

(2) The foregoing sub-section shall not apply to the following income or profits and such income or profits shall be deemed to arise from separate sources respectively, that is to say:—

(i) income or profits chargeable under Rule 3 of Case III. of Schedule D, and

(ii) profits chargeable under Rule 4 of Case III. of Schedule D, and

(iii) income from securities and possessions in any place out of Saorstát Eireann tax on which under Rule 2 of the rules contained in Part II. of the First Schedule to this Act is required to be computed by reference to the amount of the income received in Saorstát Eireann.

(3) If in any year of assessment any person charged or chargeable in respect of income or profits under Case III. of Schedule D, as added to by section 11 of this Act ceases to possess the whole of such single source of income or profits as is mentioned in sub-section (1) of this section, or any of the sources the income of which is directed to be separately computed under sub-section (2) of this section, section 12 of this Act (which relates to the discontinuance of a trade, profession, or vocation) shall, subject to the necessary modifications, apply in any such case as if the cesser of the possession of such single source or separate sources, as the case may be, were the discontinuance of a trade.

11 Income from foreign securities and foreign possessions.

11.—Income tax in respect of the income mentioned in the first column of Part II. of the First Schedule to this Act shall cease to be chargeable under Cases IV. and V. of Schedule D respectively and shall become chargeable under the case of Schedule D mentioned in the second column of the said Part II. of the said First Schedule and the rules applicable to such case, including the provisions of this Act amending those Rules, shall apply accordingly, but subject to the provisions contained in the third column of the said Part II. of the said First Schedule.

12 Discontinuance of trades, etc.

12.—(1) Where in any year of assessment a trade, profession or vocation is permanently discontinued then, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act—

(a) the person charged or chargeable with tax in respect thereof shall be charged for that year on the amount of the profits or gains of the period beginning on the 6th day of April in that year and ending on the date of the discontinuance, subject to any deduction or set-off to which he may be entitled under the section of this Act which provides for relief in respect of certain losses or under Rule 13 of the Rules applicable to Cases I. and II. of Schedule D, and, if he has been charged otherwise than in accordance with this paragraph, any tax overpaid shall be repaid, or an additional assessment may be made upon him, as the case may require;

(b) if the profits or gains of the year ending on the 5th day of April in the year preceding the year of assessment in which the discontinuance occurs exceed the amount on which the person has been charged for that preceding year, or would have been charged if no such deduction or set-off as aforesaid had been allowed, an additional assessment may be made upon him, so that he shall be charged for that preceding year on the amount of the profits or gains of the said year ending on the 5th day of April, subject to any such deduction or set-off as aforesaid to which he may be entitled.

(2) In the case of the death of a person who, if he had not died, would, under this section, have become chargeable to income tax for any year, the tax which would have been so chargeable shall be assessed and charged upon his executors or administrators, and shall be a debt due from and payable out of his estate.

13 Amendment of Rule 11 of Rules applicable to Cases I. and II. of Schedule D.

13.—(1) For Rule 11 of the Rules applicable to Cases I and II of Schedule D there shall be substituted the following:—

“11.—(1) If at any time after the 5th day of April, 1931, a change occurs in a partnership of persons engaged in any trade, profession or vocation, by reason of retirement or death of one or more of the partners or the dissolution of the partnership as to one or more of the partners or the admission of a new partner, in such circumstances that one or more of the persons who until that time were engaged in the trade, profession or vocation continue to be engaged therein, or a person who until that time was engaged in any trade, profession or vocation on his own account continues to be engaged in it, but as a partner in a partnership, the tax payable by the person or persons who carry on the trade, profession or vocation after that time shall notwithstanding the change, be computed (save as is otherwise provided by this rule) according to the profits or gains of the trade, profession or vocation during the period prescribed by the Income Tax Acts.