Finance Act , 1940

PART I. Income Tax.

1 Income tax and sur-tax for the year 1940-41.

1.—(1) Income tax shall be charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1940, at the rate of six shillings and six pence in the pound.

(2) Sur-tax for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1940, shall be charged in respect of the income of any individual the total of which from all sources exceeds one thousand five hundred pounds and shall be so charged at the same rates (including increases made by this Act) as those at which it is charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1939.

(3) The several statutory and other provisions which were in force on the 5th day of April, 1940, in relation to income tax and sur-tax and also the provisions relating to increases in the rates of sur-tax contained in this Act shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have effect in relation to the income tax and sur-tax to be charged as aforesaid for the said year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1940.

2 Rates of sur-tax for the year 1939-40.

2.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Finance Act, 1939 (No. 18 of 1939), the rates at which sur-tax for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1939, shall be charged in respect of the income of any individual which exceeds twenty thousand pounds shall (subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section of this section) be the several rates at which sur-tax is chargeable by virtue of section 1 of the Finance Act, 1938 (No. 25 of 1938), increased, in the case of each such rate, by twenty per cent.

(2) In the case of any individual to whom the foregoing sub-section of this section applies the amount of sur-tax with which he is charged by virtue of the said sub-section shall not exceed, and shall, where necessary, be reduced to, the sum of the following amounts, that is to say:—

(a) the amount of the sur-tax which he would be liable to pay if his income had reached but had not exceeded twenty thousand pounds, and

(b) the amount by which his income exceeds twenty thousand pounds reduced by income tax at the standard rate on such excess.

3 Amendment of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1922.

3.—(1) Section 20 of the Finance Act, 1922, shall be construed and have effect as if paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of the said section were deleted and the following paragraph inserted in lieu thereof, that is to say:—

“(b) which by virtue of or in consequence of any disposition made, directly or indirectly, by any person (other than a disposition made for valuable and sufficient consideration) is payable to or applicable for the benefit of any other person, but excluding any income which—

(i) arises from capital of which the disponer by the disposition has divested absolutely himself in favour of or for the benefit of the said other person, or

(ii) being payable to a person who is an individual for his own use, is so payable for a period which exceeds or may exceed six years, or

(iii) being applicable for the benefit of a named person who is an individual, is so applicable for a period which exceeds or may exceed six years.”

(2) The amendment of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1922, made by the foregoing sub-section of this section shall apply in respect of every disposition made on or after the 8th day of May, 1940, (whether before or after the passing of this Act) and shall also apply, as on and from the 6th day of April, 1947, in respect of every disposition which was made prior to the 8th day of May, 1940, and of which the effect is not spent on the 6th day of April, 1947.

4 Amendment of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1922.

4.—Paragraph (a) of sub-section (6) of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1922, is hereby amended by the deletion therefrom of the words and figures “which has, since the fifth day of April, nineteen hundred and fourteen, been registered under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1917” now contained therein and the insertion in the said paragraph of the words and figures “which is a company within the meaning of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908” in lieu of the said words and figures so deleted.

5 Deduction of tax from dividends.

5.—(1) In this section the expression “the principal enactment” means Rule 20 of the General Rules applicable to Schedules A, B, C, D and E of the Income Tax Act, 1918.

(2) The provisions of the principal enactment shall, in relation to any dividend paid, whether before or after the passing of this Act, by any body of persons, be construed as authorising the deduction of tax from the full amount paid out of profits and gains of the said body which—

(a) have been charged to tax, or

(b) would fall, under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, to be included in computing the liability of the said body to assessment to tax for any year if the said provisions required the computation to be made by reference to the profits and gains of that year and not by reference to those of any other year or period.

(3) For all the purposes of the Income Tax Acts the amount of any dividend paid, whether before or after the passing of this Act, by any body of persons from which a deduction of tax is authorised by the principal enactment, as amended by the provisions contained in the next preceding sub-section of this section, shall be deemed to be income of such amount as would, after such deduction of tax as is so authorised, be equal—

(a) if tax is deducted from such dividend, to the net amount received, and

(b) in every other case, to the amount received.

(4) Section 13 of the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), shall have effect in relation to dividends with due regard to the provisions contained in the next preceding sub-section of this section.

6 Amendment of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1920.

6.—Section 21 of the Finance Act, 1920, is hereby amended by the addition at the end of the said section of the following sub-section, that is to say:—

“(5) Where, for any year of assessment, two or more individuals are or would, but for the provisions of this sub-section, be entitled under this section to relief in respect of the same child, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) only one deduction under this section shall be allowed in respect of such child;

(b) where such child is maintained by one parent only, that parent only shall be entitled to claim such deduction;

(c) where such child is maintained jointly by both parents, each parent shall be entitled to claim such part of such deduction as is proportionate to the amount expended by him or her on the maintenance of such child;

(d) in ascertaining for the purposes of this sub-section whether a parent maintains a child and, if so, to what extent, any payment made by such parent for or towards the maintenance of such child which such parent is entitled to deduct in computing his or her total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts shall be deemed not to be a payment for or towards the maintenance of such child.”

7 Amendment of section 32 of the Finance Act, 1921.

7.—Section 32 of the Finance Act, 1921, is hereby amended by the deletion therefrom of paragraph (b) of sub-section (3) and the substitution in lieu of the paragraph so deleted of the following paragraph, that is to say:—

“(b) the fund has for its sole purpose the provision of annuities for all or any of the following persons in the events respectively specified, that is to say, for persons employed in the trade or undertaking, either on retirement at a specified age, or on becoming incapacitated at some earlier age, or for the widows, children, or dependants of persons who are or have been so employed, on the death of those persons.”

8 Exemptions and allowances consequent upon section 59 of the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939.

8.—(1) Exemption shall be granted from tax under Schedule A of the Income Tax Act, 1918, in respect of any hereditament which is not let in whole or in part and, pursuant to sub-section (3) of section 59 of the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939 (No. 21 of 1939), is not rated.

(2) Where in ascertaining under the Valuation Acts the valuation of a hereditament which is a mill, factory, or other similar premises, no regard is, pursuant to sub-section (2) of section 59 of the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939 (No. 21 of 1939), to be had to any room or other part of such hereditament or to any structural alterations or improvements to such hereditament, the amount of any deduction to be allowed under Rule 5 of the Rules applicable to Cases I and II of Schedule D of the Income Tax Act, 1918, shall be increased by an amount equal to one-sixth of the difference between the annual value of such hereditament and the annual value of such hereditament estimated on the basis that regard is to be had to (as the case may be) such room or other part or such structural alterations or improvements.

PART II. Customs and Excise.

9 Imposition of duties in the First Schedule.

9.—(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on every of the articles mentioned in the second column of the First Schedule to this Act imported on or after the 9th day of May, 1940, a duty of customs at the rate stated in the third column of the said First Schedule opposite the mention of the article in the said second column.

(2) Where a percentage is stated in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act opposite the mention of any article in the second column of the said First Schedule, such statement shall be construed as meaning a rate of duty equal to that percentage of the value of such article.

(3) Wherever it is stated without qualification in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act that the provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, apply to a duty mentioned in that Schedule, the provisions of the said section 8 shall apply to that duty with the substitution of the expression “the area of application of the Acts of the Oireachtas” for the expression “Great Britain and Ireland” and as though the articles chargeable with the said duty were mentioned in the Second Schedule to the said Finance Act, 1919, in the list of goods to which two-thirds of the full rate is made applicable as a preferential rate.

(4) Wherever it is stated in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act that the licensing provision applies to a particular duty mentioned in that Schedule, the following provision shall apply and have effect in relation to that duty, that is to say:—whenever the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce, so thinks proper, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise any particular person, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, to import without payment of the said duty any articles chargeable with the said duty either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper, without limit as to time or quantity or either of them or within a specified time or in a specified quantity, but so that no such licence shall be exempt from the provisions of section 15 of the Finance (Agreement with United Kingdom) Act, 1938 (No. 12 of 1938).

(5) Subject to the provisions of the two next preceding sub-sections of this section, the provisions (if any) set forth in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act at any reference number in that Schedule shall have effect in respect of the duty mentioned at that reference number.

10 Excise duty on cider and perry.

10.—(1) There shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1940, be charged, levied, and paid on all cider or perry made in the State and sold or kept for sale in the State a duty of excise (in this section referred to as cider duty) at the rate of one shilling the gallon.

(2) Cider duty shall not be charged or levied on any cider or perry which—

(a) formed part of the stock of any person (not being the maker of such cider or perry) at midnight on the 8th day of May, 1940, or

(b) is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to have been exported or to have been shipped for use as ships' stores.

(3) There shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1940, be charged, levied, and paid a duty of excise (in this section referred to as cider licence duty) of ten shillings on a licence to be taken out annually by every person who makes cider or perry for sale.

(4) The Revenue Commissioners may exempt from the obligation to take out a licence under sub-section (3) of this section any person (in this section referred to as an exempted person) who shows to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that his main source of livelihood is the cultivation of land for his own profit and that he does not carry on regularly the business of selling cider or perry.

(5) If any person, other than an exempted person or the holder of a licence under sub-section (3) of this section for the time being in force, makes cider or perry for sale, he shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five hundred pounds and any article in respect of which such offence is committed shall be forfeited.

(6) The Revenue Commissioners may make regulations for securing and collecting cider duty and cider licence duty and, in particular,—

(a) for requiring and verifying particulars of output, stocks, and sales of cider or perry,

(b) for the registration of persons by whom and premises at which cider or perry is made or sold,

(c) for providing for such facilities as may be necessary or desirable in relation to the bottling or rebottling of cider or perry or the sale of cider or perry to dealers,

(d) for regulating the issue, duration, and renewal of the licences on which cider licence duty is payable, and

(e) for applying to cider duty or cider licence duty and to the making, sale, or delivery of cider or perry any enactment for the time being in force relating to any duty of excise or to persons carrying on any trade which is for the time being subject to the law of excise.

(7) If any person contravenes (whether by act or omission) any regulation made by the Revenue Commissioners under the next preceding sub-section of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five hundred pounds and any article in respect of which such offence is committed shall be forfeited.

(8) Any officer of the Revenue Commissioners may at any reasonable time enter any premises or place in which cider or perry is made or is sold or kept for sale with a view to seeing whether the provisions of this section as to cider duty or any regulations made in pursuance of those provisions are being complied with, and, if any person prevents or obstructs such entry, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of twenty pounds.

11 Customs duty on cider and perry.

11.—(1) In lieu of the present customs duties on cider and perry, there shall be charged, levied, and paid on all cider and perry imported on or after the 9th day of May, 1940, a duty of customs at the rate of five shillings the gallon.

(2) Any article on which the duty imposed by this section is charged and paid shall not also be chargeable with duty in respect of any sugar or other sweetening matter contained in the article.

(3) The provisions of section 6 of the Finance (Agreement with United Kingdom) Act, 1938 (No. 12 of 1938), shall apply and have effect in relation to the duty imposed by this section as if the articles chargeable with that duty were mentioned in the second column of the First Schedule to the said Act, and this section were mentioned in the third column of the said Schedule opposite the mention of the said articles in the said second column, and the rate of three shillings the gallon were specified in the fourth column of the said Schedule opposite the mention of the said articles in the said second column.

12 Duty on licences for export of salmon and trout.

12.—(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on the occasions hereinafter mentioned, on and by every person who takes out or renews on or after the 9th day of May, 1940, pursuant to section 44 of the Fisheries Act, 1939 (No. 17 of 1939), a licence for the export of salmon and trout for sale, an excise duty of one pound in respect of every licence so taken out or renewed.

(2) The duty imposed by this section in respect of any licence shall be charged, levied, and paid at the time of taking out such licence and also on every renewal of such licence.

(3) The duty imposed by this section in respect of any licence shall be paid and collected by means of stamps denoting the amount of such duty impressed on such licence and the Stamp Duties Management Act, 1891, shall apply to such duty and stamps.

(4) It shall not be lawful to issue a licence in respect of which the duty imposed by this section is payable unless or until such licence has been duly stamped under this section in respect of such duty, and every person who issues a licence in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five pounds.

13 Termination of the duty on butter.

13.—The duty of customs on butter which was imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs Duties) Act, 1931 (No. 14 of 1931), and of which the rate was increased by section 1 of the Finance (Customs Duties) Act, 1934 (No. 18 of 1934), shall not be charged or levied on any butter imported on or after the 5th day of June, 1940.

14 Amendment of section 16 of the Finance Act, 1932.

14.—The duty imposed by section 16 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), shall not be charged or levied on any article which is a cinematograph or an accessory or component part of a cinematograph.

15 Amendment of section 41 of the Finance Act, 1932.

15.—Section 41 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), shall have effect in relation to beer brewed in the year beginning on the 1st day of July, 1940, and in relation to beer brewed in any year beginning on any subsequent 1st day of July as if the reference now contained in the said section to a rate of five shillings per standard barrel were a reference to a rate of ten shillings per standard barrel.

16 Registered book-making premises duty.