Finance Act , 1994

PART I Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter I Income Tax

1 Amendment of provisions relating to exemption from income tax.

1.—As respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, the Finance Act, 1980, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 1—

(i) by the substitution, in paragraph (b) of subsection (1), of “40 per cent.” for “48 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992), and

(ii) by the substitution, in paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991) of subsection (3) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1989), of “£450” for “£350” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993) in both places where it occurs and of “£650” for “£550” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993),

and

(b) in section 2, by the substitution, in subsection (3), of “40 per cent.” for “48 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992),

and the said paragraph (b) of subsection (1), and the said paragraph (a) of subsection (3), of the said section 1 and the said subsection (3) of the said section 2, as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(b) an individual makes a claim for the purpose, makes a return in the prescribed form of his total income for that year and proves that it does not exceed a sum equal to twice the specified amount, he shall be entitled to have the amount of income tax payable in respect of his total income for that year, if that amount would, but for the provisions of this subsection, exceed a sum equal to 40 per cent. of the amount by which his total income exceeds the specified amount, reduced to that sum.

(a) For the purposes of this section and section 2, where a claimant proves that he has living at any time during the year of assessment, any qualifying child, then, subject to subsection (4), the specified amount (within the meaning of this section or section 2, as the case may be) shall be increased, for that year of assessment, by £450 in respect of the first such child, £450 in respect of the second such child and £650 in respect of each such child in excess of two.

(3) Where an individual to whom this section applies proves that his total income for a year of assessment for which this section applies does not exceed a sum equal to twice the specified amount, he shall be entitled to have the amount of income tax payable in respect of his total income for that year, if that amount would, but for the provisions of this subsection, exceed a sum equal to 40 per cent. of the amount by which his total income exceeds the specified amount, reduced to that sum.

2 Alteration of rates of income tax.

2.—(1) Section 2 of the Finance Act, 1991, is hereby amended, as respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, by the substitution of the following Table for the Table to that section:

“TABLE

PART I

Part of taxable income	Rate of tax	Description of rate
(1)	(2)	(3)
The first £8,200	27 per cent.	the standard rate
The remainder	48 per cent.	the higher rate

PART II

Part of taxable income	Rate of tax	Description of rate
(1)	(2)	(3)
The first £16,400	27 per cent.	the standard rate
The remainder	48 per cent.	the higher rate

”.

(2) (a) The First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1993, is hereby amended, in paragraph 1 of Part I, by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “higher rate”:

“‘higher rate’, in relation to tax, means the rate of tax, known by that description, provided for in section 2 of the Finance Act, 1991;”.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from the 6th day of April, 1993.

3 Personal reliefs.

3.—(1) Where a deduction falls to be made from the total income of an individual for the year of assessment 1994-95 or any subsequent year of assessment in respect of relief to which the individual is entitled under a provision mentioned in column (1) of the Table to this subsection and the amount of the deduction would, but for this section, be an amount specified in column (2) of the said Table, the amount of the deduction shall, in lieu of being the amount specified in the said column (2), be the amount specified in column (3) of the said Table opposite the mention of the amount in the said column (2).

TABLE

Statutory provision	Amount to be deducted from total income for the year 1993-94	Amount to be deducted from total income for the year 1994-95 and subsequent years
(1)	(2)	(3)
	£	£
Income Tax Act, 1967:
section 138
(married person)	4,350	4,700
(widowed person bereaved in the year of assessment)	4,350	4,700
(widowed person)	2,675	2,850
(single person)	2,175	2,350
section 138A
(additional allowance for widowed persons and others in respect of children)
(widowed person)	1,675	1,850
(other person)	2,175	2,350

(2) Section 3 of the Finance Act, 1993, shall have effect subject to the provisions of this section.

(3) The First Schedule shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing subsection (1).

4 Amendment of section 138B (employee allowance) of Income Tax Act, 1967.

4.—As respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, section 138B (inserted by the Finance Act, 1980) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2A) (a) The exclusion from the definition of ‘emoluments’ in subsection (2) of the emoluments referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the said definition shall not apply for any year of assessment to any such emoluments paid to an individual, being a child (other than a child who is a proprietary director) to whom the said paragraph (a) or (b) relates, if, for that year—

(i) (I) the individual is a specified employed contributor within the meaning of section 6 of the Finance Act, 1982, or

(II) the provisions of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1960 (S.I. No. 28 of 1960), in so far as they apply, have, in relation to any such emoluments paid to the individual in the year of assessment, been complied with by the person by whom the emoluments are paid, and

(ii) the conditions of the office or employment, in respect of which any such emoluments are paid, are such that the individual is required to devote, throughout the year of assessment, substantially the whole of the individual's time to the duties of the office or employment and the individual does in fact do so, and

(iii) the amount of any such emoluments, paid to the individual in the year of assessment, are not less than £3,600.

(b) Where a deduction under this section is to be made from emoluments for any year of assessment by virtue of the operation of paragraph (a) of this subsection such deduction shall be given by way of repayment of tax.”.

5 Amendment of section 6 (special allowance in respect of P.R.S.I. for 1982-83) of Finance Act, 1982.

5.—Section 6 of the Finance Act, 1982, shall have effect for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of income on which an individual referred to therein is to be charged to income tax for the year 1994-95, as if in subsection (2)—

(a) “1994-95” were substituted for “1982-83”, and

(b) “£286” were substituted for “£312” in each place where it occurs.

6 Amendment of provisions relating to relief in respect of interest.

6.—(1) In this section “the principal sections” has the same meaning as it has in section 5 of the Finance Act, 1993, that is to say, sections 76 (1) and 496 of, and paragraph 1 (2) of Part III of Schedule 6 to, the Income Tax Act, 1967.

(2) As respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, section 5 of the Finance Act, 1993, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (4) of “year of assessment 1994-95” for “year of assessment 1993-94” and of “five years” for “three years”, and

(b) by the addition of the following proviso to subsection (5):

“Provided that—

(a) this subsection shall not apply or have effect for the first five years of assessment for which relief falls to be given under the principal sections in respect of one or more than one qualifying loan (within the meaning of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1982), and

(b) for the purposes of calculating the additional relief, if any, which but for the enactment of paragraph (a) would not have been given for a year of assessment, any relief given in accordance with the principal sections in the case of a person who has elected or could be deemed to have duly elected to be assessed to tax in accordance with the provisions of section 194 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, for any year of assessment shall, notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts, be treated as given equally to the person and that person's spouse for such year of assessment notwithstanding that—

(i) section 197 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, may have applied for that year of assessment, and

(ii) the payments in respect of which relief is given may not have been made in such proportions.”,

and the said subsection (4) (other than the proviso), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this subsection.

TABLE

(4) As respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, section 6 of the Finance Act, 1987, shall not apply or have effect for the first five years of assessment for which relief falls to be given under the principal sections in respect of one or more than one qualifying loan (within the meaning of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1982):

(3) (a) The amount of relievable interest which would, but for this subsection, be taken into account for a year of assessment in accordance with the principal sections either as a deduction from income or by way of repayment of tax in respect of that interest shall, as respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, be restricted to the percentage (which may be nil) of such relievable interest as is set out in the Table to this subsection.

(b) In relation to any part of relievable interest in respect of which relief would, but for this subsection, fall to be given for a year of assessment either as a deduction from income or by way of repayment of tax in respect of that part of the relievable interest, the income tax to be charged, other than in accordance with section 5 (3) of the Finance Act, 1974, on the person by whom that interest is paid for that year of assessment shall be reduced by an amount which is the lesser of—

(i) the amount equal to the appropriate percentage of such part of the relievable interest, and

(ii) the amount which reduces that income tax to nil.

(c) Except for the purposes of sections 1 and 2 of the Finance Act, 1980, no account shall be taken of that part of the relievable interest as is referred to in paragraph (b) in calculating the total income of the person by whom the relievable interest is paid.

(d) In this subsection—

“appropriate percentage”, in relation to a year of assessment, means a percentage equal to the standard rate of tax for that year;

“relievable interest” means the interest in respect of which relief would, but for this subsection, otherwise have been given under the principal sections and any restriction which is imposed by any other enactment as to the amount of interest in respect of which relief is to be given under the principal sections shall be applied as if this subsection had not been enacted.

TABLE

Year of assessment	Percentage
1994-95	75
1995-96	50
1996-97	25
1997-98 and subsequent years	0

7 Restriction of relief in respect of insurance against expenses of illness.

7.—As respects the year of assessment 1995-96 and subsequent years of assessment, section 145 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3A) (a) The amount of a payment or part of a payment, as the case may be, (referred to in this subsection as the ‘relievable amount’) which would, but for this subsection, be taken into account in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section either as a deduction from or set-off against any income of an individual for a year of assessment shall be restricted to the percentage (which may be nil) of such relievable amount as is set out in the Table to this subsection.

(b) In relation to any part of the relievable amount in respect of which relief would, but for this subsection, fall to be given either as a deduction from or set-off against any income of an individual for a year of assessment, the income tax to be charged for that year of assessment, other than in accordance with section 5 (3) of the Finance Act, 1974, on the person by whom the payment is made shall be reduced by an amount which is the lesser of—

(i) the amount equal to the appropriate percentage of such part of the relievable amount, and

(ii) the amount which reduces that income tax to nil.

(c) In this subsection ‘appropriate percentage’, in relation to a year of assessment, means a percentage equal to the standard rate of tax for that year.

TABLE

Year of assessment	Percentage
1995-96	50
1996-97 and subsequent years	0

”.

8 Amendment of section 12 (relief for health expenses) of Finance Act, 1967.

8.—As respects the year of assessment 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, section 12 of the Finance Act, 1967, is hereby amended, in subsection (2), by the substitution—

(a) in paragraph (a), of “£100” for “£50”, and

(b) in paragraph (c) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1969), of “£200” for “£100” in both places where it occurs,

and the said paragraphs (a) and (c), as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(a) Subject to the provisions of this section, where an individual, having made a claim in that behalf and having made a return in the prescribed form of his total income, proves that in the year of assessment he defrayed health expenses which were incurred for the provision of health care for any one qualified person and the amount of which in the aggregate exceeds £100, he shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction of the amount of the excess made from his total income.

(c) Where an individual, having made a claim in that behalf and having made a return in the prescribed form of his total income, proves that in the year of assessment he defrayed health expenses which were incurred for the provision of health care for qualified persons and which amount in the aggregate to more than £200, he shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction of the amount by which the aggregate of the health expenses so computed exceeds £200 made from his total income and such deduction shall be in substitution for and not in addition to a deduction under paragraph (a).

9 Amendment of section 8 (restriction of relief in respect of interest paid on certain loans at a reduced rate) of Finance Act, 1982.

9.—Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1982, is hereby amended, as respects the year 1994-95 and subsequent years of assessment, by the substitution in the definition of “the specified rate” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1989) in subsection (1) of—

(a) “7.5 per cent.” for “11 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992) in both places where it occurs, and

(b) “11.5 per cent.” for “15 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992),

and the said definition, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

“the specified rate”, in relation to a preferential loan, means—

(i) in a case where—

(I) the interest which is paid on the preferential loan qualifies for relief under section 76 (1) (c) or 496 of, or paragraph 1 (2) of Part III of Schedule 6 to, the Income Tax Act, 1967, or

(II) if no interest is paid on the preferential loan, the interest which would have been paid on that loan (if interest had been payable) would have so qualified,

the rate of 7.5 per cent. per annum or such other rate (if any) as stands prescribed by the Minister for Finance by regulations, or

(ii) in a case where—

(I) the preferential loan is made to an employee by an employer,

(II) the making of loans for the purposes of purchasing a dwelling-house for occupation by the borrower as a residence, for a stated term of years at a rate of interest which does not vary for the duration of the loan, forms part of the trade of the employer, and

(III) the rate of interest at which the employer in the course of his trade at the time the preferential loan is or was made makes or made loans at arm's length to persons, other than employees, for the purposes of purchasing a dwelling-house for occupation by the borrower as a residence is less than 7.5 per cent. per annum or such other rate (if any) as stands prescribed by the Minister for Finance by regulations,

the first-mentioned rate in subparagraph (III), or

(iii) in any other case, the rate of 11.5 per cent. per annum or such other rate (if any) as stands prescribed by the Minister for Finance by regulations.

10 Taxation treatment of unemployment benefit in certain cases.

10.—(1) In this section—

“day of unemployment” has the same meaning as it has in section 42 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993;

“period of interruption of employment” shall be construed in accordance with section 42 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993;