Finance Act , 1950

PART I. Income Tax.

1 Income tax and sur-tax for the year 1950-51.

1.—(1) Income tax shall be charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1950, 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, 1950, 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 as those at which it is charged for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1949.

(3) The several statutory and other provisions which were in force on the 5th day of April, 1950, 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 sur-tax to be charged as aforesaid for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1950.

2 Amendment of section 3 of the Finance Act, 1925.

2.—Section 3 (which relates to exemption of certain military pensions and gratuities) of the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), is hereby amended by the insertion therein of the following subsection in lieu of subsection (2) now (by virtue of section 3 of the Finance Act, 1946 (No. 15 of 1946)) contained in the said section 3:—

“(2) The wounds and disabilities pensions to which section 16 of the Finance Act, 1919, applies shall include and be deemed always to have included (a) all wound and disability pensions, and all increases in such pensions, granted under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1949, and (b) all gratuities in respect of wounds or disabilities similarly granted, and the said section 16 shall be construed and have effect accordingly.”

3 Extension of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1932.

3.—Where the amount of an allowance to which section 8 (which relates to the exemption of certain allowances under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 and 1927) of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), applied before the passing of the Army Pensions (Increase) Act, 1949 (No. 28 of 1949), has been increased by virtue of section 4 of the said Army Pensions (Increase) Act, 1949, the said section 8 of the Finance Act, 1932, shall apply, and be deemed always to have applied, to the whole of such allowance as so increased in amount.

4 Exemption of allowances: Griffith Settlement Act, 1923, and Army Pensions Act, 1937.

4.—(1) Income to which this section applies shall be exempt from income tax (including sur-tax) and shall not be reckoned in computing income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) any yearly sum payable under section 1 of the Griffith Settlement Act, 1923 (No. 5 of 1923), and

(b) any allowance payable under section 3 of the Army Pensions Act, 1937 (No. 15 of 1937).

PART II. Customs and Excise.

5 Cesser of preferential rates of customs duties on unmanufactured tobacco.

5.—Section 15 of the Finance Act, 1949 (No. 13 of 1949), shall cease to have effect as on and from the 31st day of July, 1950, except in relation to—

(a) unmanufactured tobacco in a bonded warehouse on that date, and

(b) unmanufactured tobacco as respects which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that such tobacco was purchased before that date for the purpose of being imported into the State.

6 Entertainments duty—entertainment proceeds of which are for educational, philanthropic, or charitable purposes.

6.—Subsection (4) of section 10 of the Finance Act, 1943 (No. 16 of 1943), is hereby amended, as respects entertainments held on or after the 1st day of August, 1950, by the substitution of the words “fifty per cent.” for the words “thirty per cent.”

7 Entertainments duty—entertainment consisting of amateur wrestling.

7.—Entertainments duty within the meaning of and chargeable under section 1 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as amended by subsequent enactments shall not be charged or levied on payments for admission to any entertainment in respect of which it is proved to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the entertainment is promoted by the Irish Amateur Wrestling Association or by a club affiliated to or under the direct control of that association, and that the entertainment consists solely of an exhibition of the sport of wrestling at or in connection with which no money is awarded or paid to any of the participants or contestants whether as a prize, remuneration, or otherwise.

8 Appraisers' licences—exemption.

8.—(1) On and after the 6th day of July, 1950, a person who is authorised to conduct auctions by virtue of—

(a) an auctioneer's licence granted under section 8 of the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1947 (No. 10 of 1947), and for the time being in force, or

(b) an auction permit granted under section 9 of that Act and for the time being in force,

may act as an appraiser within the meaning of the Appraisers Licences Act, 1806, without being licensed under that Act.

(2) Section 7 of the Appraisers Licences Act, 1806, shall be repealed as on and from the 6th day of July, 1950.

9 Regulations in relation to aerodromes, aircraft, etc.

9.—(1) The Minister for Finance may by regulations make such provision as appears to him to be requisite or expedient for all or any of the following purposes:—

(a) applying any of the provisions of the Customs Acts, subject to such modifications as he considers appropriate, in relation to aerodromes and to aircraft and persons, goods, mails, stores and baggage carried therein, disembarked or unladen therefrom or embarked or laden thereon;

(b) adapting or modifying any of the provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties in relation to aerodromes and to aircraft and persons, goods, mails, stores and baggage carried therein, disembarked or unladen therefrom or embarked or laden thereon;

(c) preventing smuggling by air;

(d) carrying out, in so far as they relate to the Customs, the provisions of the Chicago Convention.

In this subsection, the expression “the Chicago Convention” has the same meaning as it has in Part II of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 (No. 23 of 1946), as amended by section 9 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950 (No. 4 of 1950).

(2) If any person contravenes, whether by act or omission, any regulation under this section, he shall, in addition to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence against the Customs Acts and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a Customs penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, and he may either be detained or proceeded against by summons.

(3) Any goods in respect of which an offence under this section may have been committed, together with all aircraft, ships, boats, vehicles, animals and other things used in their conveyance, shall be forfeited.

(4) On the making of the first regulations under this section for the purposes specified in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section, regulations 61 and 63 of the Air Navigation (General) Regulations, 1930 (S.R. & O., No. 26 of 1930), shall cease to have effect.

PART III. Death Duties.

10 Confirmation of Convention set forth in First Schedule.

10.—(1) The convention set forth in the First Schedule to this Act and concluded on the 13th day of September, 1949, between the Government and the Government of the United States of America (in this section referred to as the Convention) is hereby confirmed and shall have the force of law.

(2) Subsection (4) of section 7 of the Finance Act, 1894 (which provides for relief in respect of duty payable in a foreign country) shall not have effect in relation to estate tax chargeable under the laws of the United States of America to which the provisions of the Convention apply.

PART IV. Corporation Profits Tax.

11 Continuance of certain exemptions from corporation profits tax.

11.—(1) The exemptions from corporation profits tax specified in subsection (1) of section 33 of the Finance Act, 1929 (No. 32 of 1929), as amended by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1931 (No. 31 of 1931), paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 47 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), and subsection (2) of this section shall be given in respect of the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1950, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1952.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 33 of the Finance Act, 1929, as amended by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1931, and paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 47 of the Finance Act, 1932, is hereby further amended by the insertion at the end of that subsection of the following word and paragraph:—

“or

(f) in the case of a company which carries on a railway undertaking, to any profits of that company.”

PART V. Relief of Double Taxation: Income Tax, Sur-Tax and Corporation Profits Tax.

12 Confirmation of Convention set forth in Second Schedule:

12.—(1) The convention set forth in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act and concluded on the 13th day of September, 1949, between the Government and the Government of the United States of America (in this section referred to as the Convention) is hereby confirmed and shall have the force of law.

(2) For the purpose of giving effect to the Convention, the provisions set forth in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect.

(3) The necessary apportionments shall be made for the purpose of giving effect to the terms of the Convention as respects corporation profits tax in the case of accounting periods beginning before the 1st day of April in the year in which the Convention first has effect and ending on or after that date, and any such apportionment shall be made in proportion to the number of months or fractions of months in the part of the relevant accounting period before the said 1st day of April and in the remaining part of the said relevant accounting period respectively.

(4) The Revenue Commissioners may from time to time make regulations in relation to the granting of the reliefs specified in the Convention and may, in particular, by those regulations provide—

(a) for securing that no such reliefs from taxation imposed by the laws of the United States of America as are provided for in the Convention shall enure to the benefit of persons not entitled thereto, and

(b) for authorising, in cases where tax deductible from any periodical payment has, in order to comply with the terms of the Convention, not been deducted and it is discovered that the Convention does not apply to that payment, the recovery of the tax by assessment on the person entitled to the payment or by deduction from subsequent payments.

13 Provision as to dividends.

13.—(1) This section applies to any dividend payable after the passing of this Act, being a dividend from which deduction of tax is authorised by Rule 20 of the General Rules.

(2) In this section—

the expression “the company” means a body of persons paying a dividend to which this section applies;

the expression “double taxation relief” means any credit for tax (other than British income tax) payable in any territory outside the State, which is allowable against Irish income tax by virtue of any international agreement having the force of law, including any such credit which has been taken into account in relation to any dividends receivable by the company;

the expression “the reduced Irish rate” means the rate of Irish income tax payable directly or by deduction by the company after taking double taxation relief into account.

(3) (i) Notwithstanding anything in the Income Tax Acts, no relief or repayment in respect of the tax deducted or authorised to be deducted from any dividend to which this section applies shall, in a case in which there is double taxation relief, be allowed at a rate exceeding the reduced Irish rate.

(ii) Where the reduced Irish rate falls to be computed in relation to a dividend, the particulars to be given by the company in the statement required by section 13 of the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), and section 5 of the Finance Act, 1940 (No. 14 of 1940), shall (in addition to the particulars required to be given apart from this section) include particulars of the reduced Irish rate.

(4) Where a dividend has been paid before the passing of this Act, and any double taxation relief would have fallen to be taken into account in relation to that dividend if this section had applied thereto, that relief shall be taken into account as far as possible in determining the reduced Irish rate in relation to the first dividend payable by the company to which this section applies, and any part of that relief which cannot be so taken into account shall as far as possible be taken into account in relation to the next succeeding dividend, and so on.

(5) Where the whole or any part of any annual payment is payable out of a dividend to which this section applies, and the rate of relief or repayment allowable in respect of the tax deducted or authorised to be deducted from the dividend is affected by double taxation relief, the annual payment, or that part thereof, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be paid out of profits or gains not brought into charge to tax and Rule 21 of the General Rules shall apply accordingly, but the tax recoverable under the said Rule from the person making the payment shall be reduced by an amount equal to tax on the payment or part of the payment at the reduced Irish rate applicable to the dividend.

14 Determination of reduced Irish rate.

14.—(1) In this section, the expressions “the reduced Irish rate”, “double taxation relief” and “the company” have the same meaning as in the last preceding section and the word “dividend” means a dividend to which that section applies.

(2) The reduced Irish rate in relation to any dividend shall be taken to be the rate which is produced by deducting—

(a) the rate of double taxation relief for the period for which the dividend is paid, from

(b) the rate of tax authorised to be deducted from the dividend by Rule 20 of the General Rules.

(3) Subject to any adjustment which is required by subsection (4) of the last preceding section or by subsection (4) of this section, the rate of double taxation relief for the period for which the dividend is paid shall be taken to be—

(a) in the case of a dividend paid for a period which falls wholly within any year of assessment, the rate which is produced by dividing the double taxation relief for that year of assessment by a sum consisting of the total income of the company as computed for income tax purposes for that year reduced by the amount of any income the income tax upon which the company is entitled, otherwise than under Rule 20 of the General Rules, to charge against any other person;

(b) in the case of a dividend paid for a period which falls partly within one year of assessment and partly within another year of assessment or other years of assessment, the rate which is produced by determining, in relation to each of those years,—

(i) the rate which would have been applicable if the dividend had been paid for a period falling wholly within that year, and

(ii) the portion of that rate which bears the same proportion to that rate as the part of the period for which the dividend is paid which falls within that year bears to the whole period,

and then aggregating the portions so determined.

(4) Where any matter affecting the calculation of the rate of double taxation relief has not been fully determined at the time when the reduced Irish rate falls to be determined in relation to any dividend, the rate of double taxation relief shall be estimated according to the best of the information available at the time, and, if it is subsequently found that the rate so estimated was excessive or deficient, the appropriate adjustment shall be made in determining the reduced Irish rate applicable to the next subsequent dividend on the occasion of which it is practicable to make the adjustment, and shall be made by reducing or, as the case may be, increasing the rate of double taxation relief, as calculated for the purposes of that subsequent dividend in accordance with the foregoing subsection, by a rate which bears the same proportion to the excess or deficiency in the rate applicable to the first-mentioned dividend as the total amount of the first-mentioned dividend bears to the total amount of that subsequent dividend.

(5) Where the double taxation relief for any year of assessment includes any credit which has been taken into account for the purposes of determining the reduced Irish rate applicable to any dividends received by the company, the amount of that credit shall be taken to be the sum of the amounts which are produced by applying to each such dividend the rate which represents the excess of the rate of tax authorised to be deducted from that dividend by Rule 20 of the General Rules over the reduced Irish rate applicable to that dividend.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a dividend which is not expressed to be paid for any specified period shall be deemed to be paid for the last period for which accounts of the company were made up which ended before the dividend became payable.

15 Construction of this Part of this Act.

15.—This Part of this Act and the Second Schedule to this Act shall, so far as they relate to income tax (including sur-tax), be read and construed together with the Income Tax Acts and shall, so far as they relate to corporation profits tax, be read and construed together with Part V of the Finance Act, 1920, as amended or extended by subsequent enactments.

PART VI. Stamp Duties.

16 Exception from application of sections 24 and 25 of Finance Act, 1949.

16.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, sections 24 and 25 of the Finance Act, 1949 (No. 13 of 1949), shall not apply and shall be deemed never to have applied in the case of a lease by a local authority under the provisions of the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, 1890 to 1931, or the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1941, or any Acts amending or extending those Acts, or of a lease by a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1936, and made, in accordance with a scheme for the provision of houses for its members, to a member or to such member and the spouse of the member, and any amount of duty paid before the passing of this Act in respect of any such lease in excess of the amount chargeable under paragraph (3) of the heading “Lease or Tack” in the First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, as amended by subsequent enactments other than the Finance Act, 1949, may be repaid.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall apply if, but only if—