Finance Act , 1995

(I) is the holder of a qualification set out in the Sixth Schedule to the Finance Act, 1994, and, in the case of a qualification set out in subparagraph (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of paragraph 3, or in paragraph 4, of the said Schedule, is also the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc— The Agricultural and Food Development Authority (referred to subsequently in this paragraph as “Teagasc”) certifying that such person has satisfactorily attended a course of training in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours, or

(II) (A) has satisfactorily attended full-time a course at a third-level institution in any discipline for a period of not less than 2 years' duration, and

(B) is the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc certifying satisfactory attendance at a course of training in either or both agriculture and horticulture, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 180 hours,

or

(III) if born before the 1st day of January, 1968, that such person is the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc certifying that such person has satisfactorily attended a course of training in either or both agriculture and horticulture, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 180 hours:

Provided that where Teagasc certifies that any other qualification corresponds to a qualification which is set out in the said Sixth Schedule, that other qualification shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be treated as if it were the corresponding qualification so set out.

(5) This section shall have effect only as respects a trade of farming.

22 Compulsory disposals of livestock.

22.—(1) In this section—

“accounting period” means—

(a) in relation to a company, an accounting period determined in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976, and

(b) in relation to a person other than a body corporate, a period determined in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of the Finance Act, 1976;

“chargeable period” has the same meaning as it has in paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to the Corporation Tax Act, 1976;

“excess” means the excess of the relevant amount over the value of the stock to which this section applies at the beginning of the accounting period in which the disposal takes place;

“farming” has the same meaning as it has in Chapter II of Part I of the Finance Act, 1974;

“person” means a person who is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere and includes a body corporate;

“relevant amount” means the amount of any income received by a person as a result, or in consequence, of a disposal of stock to which this section applies;

“specified return date for the chargeable period” has the same meaning as it has in section 9 of the Finance Act, 1988;

“stock to which this section applies” means cattle forming part of the trading stock of a trade of farming where all such cattle are compulsorily disposed of on or after the 6th day of April, 1993, under any statute relating to the eradication or control of diseases in livestock:

Provided that, for the purposes of this section, all such cattle shall be regarded as compulsorily disposed of where, in the case of any disease eradication scheme relating to the eradication or control of brucellosis in livestock, all eligible cattle for the purposes of any such scheme, together with such other cattle as are required to be disposed of, are disposed of;

“trading stock” has the same meaning as it has in section 31 of the Finance Act, 1975.

(2) Where stock to which this section applies is disposed of in an accounting period by a person carrying on a trade of farming, the person may elect to have the excess treated in accordance with the following provisions of this section and such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts, where a person elects in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2), the excess shall be disregarded as respects the accounting period in which it arises and shall instead be treated for the purposes of the said Acts as arising in equal instalments in each of the two immediately succeeding accounting periods:

Provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, where the person further elects, the excess shall be treated as arising in such equal instalments in the accounting period in which it arises and in the immediately succeeding accounting period.

(4) Where, not later than the end of the succeeding accounting period or succeeding accounting periods, as appropriate, referred to in subsection (3), the person incurs expenditure on the replacement of cattle in an amount not less than the relevant amount, the person shall be entitled to a deduction, in respect of the amount of the excess, under section 31A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1976) of the Finance Act, 1975, or section 12 of the Finance Act, 1976, as appropriate, such provisions being applied as if, in section 13 of the Finance Act, 1982, “100 per cent.” were substituted for “25 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993):

Provided that, where the expenditure incurred on replacement as aforesaid is less than the relevant amount, the deduction in each of the two accounting periods referred to in subsection (3) or in the proviso thereto under the said section 31A or section 12, as appropriate, shall be reduced to an amount that bears the same proportion to the excess as the expenditure incurred in each of the said two accounting periods bears to the relevant amount.

(5) An election under this section shall be made by notice in writing made on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period in which the stock to which this section applies is compulsorily disposed of:

Provided that, where the specified return date was a date prior to the date of the passing of this Act, the said election shall be made on or before the 31st day of December, 1995.

23 Capital allowances for, and deduction in respect of, vehicles.

23.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), sections 25 to 29 of the Finance Act, 1973, shall have effect, in relation to expenditure incurred on the provision or hiring of a vehicle to which those sections apply, as if for “£2,500” (construed as a reference to £13,000 by virtue of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1994), in each place where it occurs in those sections, there were substituted “£14,000”.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall apply only to expenditure incurred on the provision or hiring of a vehicle which, on or after the 9th day of February, 1995, is not a used or secondhand vehicle and is first registered in the State under section 131 of the Finance Act, 1992, without having been previously registered in any other State which duly provides for the registration of a mechanically propelled vehicle, and it does not include—

(i) as respects the said sections 25 to 27, expenditure incurred before the 9th day of February, 1995, or incurred within 12 months after that date under a contract entered into before that date, and

(ii) as respects subsections (2) and (3) of the said section 28 and the said section 29, expenditure incurred under a contract entered into before the 9th day of February, 1995.

(2) Section 32 of the Finance Act, 1976, shall have effect, in relation to qualifying expenditure (within the meaning of that section) incurred after the 8th day of February, 1995, as if for “£3,500” (construed as a reference to £13,000 by virtue of section 21 of the Finance Act, 1994), in each place where it occurs, there were substituted “£14,000”.

24 Amendment of section 265 (balancing allowances and balancing charges) of Income Tax Act, 1967, etc.

24.—(1) Section 265 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, is hereby amended in subsection (1) (c) by the substitution of “ceases altogether to be used” for “ceases to be used as an industrial building or structure” (inserted by section 22 (1) (d) (i) of the Finance Act, 1994).

(2) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 11th day of April, 1994, and accordingly section 22 (1) (d) (i) of the Finance Act, 1994, shall be deemed never to have had effect.

25 Amendment of section 272 (balancing allowances and balancing charges) of Income Tax Act, 1967.

25.—(1) Section 272 (as amended by section 24 (b) of the Finance Act, 1994) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of “paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subsection (1)” for “paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1)” in both paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5), and

(b) by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(6) Where—

(a) the sale, insurance, salvage or compensation moneys consist of a payment or payments to a person under the scheme for compensation in respect of the decommissioning of fishing vessels which is to be implemented by the Minister for the Marine pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 3699/93 of 21 December 1993[^*], and

(b) on account of the receipt by the person of the said payment or payments, a balancing charge falls, other than by reason of the proviso to this subsection, to be made on the person for any chargeable period,

then, the amount on which the balancing charge is to be made for that chargeable period shall be an amount equal to one-third of the amount (hereafter in this subsection referred to as ‘the original amount’) on which the balancing charge would, but for this subsection, have fallen to be made:

Provided that there shall be made on the person for each of the two immediately succeeding chargeable periods a balancing charge and the amount on which that charge is made for each of those periods shall be an amount equal to one-third of the original amount.”.

(2) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be deemed to have come into operation as on and from the 6th day of April, 1994.

26 Amendment of section 51 (application of certain allowances in relation to certain areas and certain expenditure) of Finance Act, 1988.

26.—Section 51 (as amended by section 33 (1) of the Finance Act, 1993) of the Finance Act, 1988, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (c) of subsection (1):

“(c) machinery or plant or an industrial building the expenditure on the provision of which is incurred before the 31st day of December, 1995, under a binding contract entered into on or before the 27th day of January, 1988;

(cc) machinery or plant or an industrial building which is provided for the purposes of a project approved by an industrial development agency on or before the 31st day of December, 1988, and in respect of the provision of which expenditure is incurred before the 31st day of December, 1995:

Provided that, as respects machinery or plant or an industrial building which is provided for the purposes of a project approved by an industrial development agency in the period from the 1st day of January, 1986, to the 31st day of December, 1988, paragraph (cc) shall apply as if the reference therein to ‘the 31st day of December, 1995’ were a reference to ‘the 31st day of December, 1996’;”.

27 Amendment of section 81 (application of certain allowances in relation to certain expenditure) of Finance Act, 1990.

27.—Section 81 of the Finance Act, 1990, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) This section applies to—

(a) machinery or plant or an industrial building or structure which is provided for the purposes of a project which was approved for grant assistance by the Industrial Development Authority, the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited or Údarás na Gaeltachta in the period from the 1st day of January, 1989, to the 31st day of December, 1990, and in respect of the provision of which expenditure is incurred before the 31st day of December, 1997:

Provided that, as respects machinery or plant or an industrial building or structure which is provided for the purposes of any such project which is specified in the list referred to in subsection (3A) (b) (iv) of section 84A of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976, paragraph (a) shall apply as if the reference therein to ‘the 31st day of December, 1997’ were a reference to ‘the 31st day of December, 2002’,

(b) a building or structure which is to be an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 255 (1) (d) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and in respect of the provision of which expenditure is incurred before the 31st day of December, 1995, where a binding contract for the provision of the building or structure was entered into before the 31st day of December, 1990, and

(c) machinery or plant which is provided for the purposes of a trade or part of a trade of hotel-keeping carried on in such a building or structure as is referred to in paragraph (b) and in respect of the provision of which expenditure is incurred before the 31st day of December, 1995:

Provided that neither paragraph (b) nor paragraph (c) shall apply if the building or structure referred to in paragraph (b) is not registered, within 6 months after the date of the completion of the said building or structure, in a register kept by Bord Fáilte Éireann under the Tourist Traffic Acts, 1939 to 1987, and where, by virtue of this section, any allowance or increased allowance has been granted any necessary additional assessments may be made to give effect to this proviso.”.

28 Amendment of section 49 (tax treatment of foreign trusts) of Finance Act, 1993.

28.—Section 49 (as amended by section 31 of the Finance Act, 1994) of the Finance Act, 1993, is hereby amended in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) by the insertion of the following proviso after clause (B) of subparagraph (i):

“Provided that all of the assets of a trust shall be regarded as situated outside the State if all of the assets, other than an asset which consists of funds held by a trustee who is a relevant person in a bank account in the State where those funds are so held by the trustee solely for the purposes of processing transactions in relation to assets situated outside the State, are so situated,”.

29 Tax relief for certain branch profits.

29.—(1) (a) In this section—

“investment plan” means a plan of a company resident in the State—

(i) which involves the investment by it or by a company associated with it of substantial permanent capital in the State for the purposes of the creation, before a date specified in the plan, of substantial new employment in the State in trading operations carried on, or to be carried on, in the State by the company or the company associated with it, and

(ii) which has been submitted prior to the commencement of its implementation to the Minister by the company for the purpose of enabling it to obtain relief under this section;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“qualified company” means a company to which the Minister, following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, has given a certificate under subsection (2), which certificate has not been revoked;

“qualified foreign trading activities” means trading activities carried on by a qualified company through a branch or agency outside the State in a territory specified in the certificate given under subsection (2) to the company by the Minister following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment.

(b) For the purposes of this section—

(i) a company is associated with another company where one of the companies is a 75 per cent, subsidiary of the other or both are 75 per cent, subsidiaries of a third company:

Provided that in determining whether one company is a 75 per cent, subsidiary of another, the other company shall be treated as not being the owner—

(I) of any share capital which it owns directly in a company if a profit on the sale of the shares would be treated as a trading receipt of its trade, or

(II) of any share capital which it owns indirectly, and which is owned directly by a company for which a profit on the sale of the shares would be a trading receipt,

(ii) sections 108 to 114 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976, shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph as they would apply for the purposes of Part XI of that Act if subsection (7) of section 107 of the said Act were deleted,

(iii) where a trade carried on by a qualified company consists partly of qualified foreign trading activities and partly of other trading activities, the company shall be treated as if it were carrying on distinct trades consisting of such qualified foreign trading activities and of such other trading activities,

(iv) there shall be attributed to each trade carried on, or treated under subparagraph (iii) as carried on, such profits or gains or losses as might have been expected to be made if each trade had been carried on under the same or similar conditions by a person independent of, and dealing at arm's length with, the person carrying on the other trade, and

(v) there shall be made all necessary apportionments as are just and reasonable for the purposes of computing—

(I) profits or gains or losses arising from, and

(II) the amount of any charges on income, expenses of management or other amount which can be deducted from or set off against or treated as reducing profits of more than one description as is incurred for the purposes of,

a trade carried on, or treated under subparagraph (iii) as carried on, by a qualified company.

(2) Where a plan has been duly submitted by a company resident in the State and the Minister, following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, is satisfied that—

(a) the plan is an investment plan,

(b) the company, or a company associated with it, will, before a date specified in the plan and approved by the Minister, make the substantial permanent capital investment in the State under the investment plan for the purposes of the creation of the said employment,

(c) the creation of substantial new employment in the State under the investment plan will be achieved, and

(d) the maintenance of the employment so created in trading operations in the State will be dependent on the carrying on by the company of qualified foreign trading activities,

then, the Minister may give a certificate certifying that the company is a qualified company with effect from a date to be specified in the certificate.

(3) (a) The Minister shall draw up guidelines for determining whether, for the purposes of subsection (2), a company and companies associated with it will create substantial new employment and will make a substantial permanent capital investment in the State.

(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), guidelines under that paragraph may—

(i) include a requirement for specified levels of—

(I) employment in the State, and

(II) permanent capital investment in the State,

and

(ii) specify such criteria for the purposes of this subsection as the Minister considers appropriate.

(4) A certificate issued under subsection (2) may be given subject to such conditions as the Minister, following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, considers proper and specifies therein.

(5) Where in the case of a company in relation to which a certificate under subsection (2) has been given the Minister, following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, forms the opinion that such certificate ought to be revoked because any condition subject to which the certificate was given has not been complied with, then the Minister may, by notice in writing served by registered post on the company, revoke the certificate with effect from such date as may be specified in the notice.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Corporation Tax Acts—

(a) profits or gains or losses arising from the carrying on of qualified foreign trading activities shall be disregarded for all the purposes of those Acts, and

(b) no amount of any charges on income, expenses of management or other amount which, apart from this paragraph, can be deducted from or set off against or treated as reducing profits of more than one description, shall be so deducted, set off or treated, as is incurred for the purposes of a trade carried on, or treated under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) as carried on, by a qualified company which consists of qualified foreign trading activities.

(7) A gain shall not be a chargeable gain for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts if it accrues to a qualified company on the disposal of an asset, other than an asset specified in subparagraphs (a) to (d) of paragraph (1) of Article 11 of Schedule 4 to the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975, used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of a trade carried on, or treated by subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) as carried on, by a qualified company which consists of qualified foreign trading activities.

(8) An inspector may by notice in writing require a qualified company to furnish him or her with such information or particulars as may be necessary for the purposes of giving relief under this section.

30 Amendment of section 48 (surcharge for late submission of returns) of Finance Act, 1986.

30.—(1) Section 48 of the Finance Act, 1986, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2), apart from the proviso thereto:

“(2) Where, in relation to a year of assessment or accounting period, a chargeable person fails to deliver a return of income on or before the specified date in relation to the return of income, any amount of tax for that year of assessment or accounting period which, apart from this section, is or would be contained in an assessment to tax made or to be made on the chargeable person shall be increased by an amount (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the ‘surcharge’) equal to—

(a) 5 per cent, of that amount of tax, subject to a maximum increased amount of £10,000, where the return of income is delivered before the expiry of two months from the specified date, and

(b) 10 per cent, of that amount of tax, subject to a maximum increased amount of £50,000, where the return of income is not delivered before the expiry of two months from the specified date,

and, if the tax contained in the assessment is not the amount of tax as so increased, then all the provisions of the Tax Acts and the Capital Gains Tax Acts (apart from this section) including, in particular, those relating to the collection and recovery of tax and the payment of interest on unpaid tax shall apply as if the tax contained in the assessment to tax were the amount of tax as so increased:”,

and

(b) by the addition after subsection (3) of the following:

“(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the specified date in relation to a return of income for a year of assessment to which the provisions of section 58 (2) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, apply, shall be the date which is the specified date in relation to the return of income in respect of the year of assessment next following that year:

Provided that throughout the first-mentioned year of assessment the chargeable person or that person's spouse, not being a spouse in relation to whom section 193 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, has effect for that year of assessment, was not carrying on a trade or profession which was set up and commenced in a previous year of assessment.”.

(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects the year 1995-96 and any subsequent year of assessment and as respects any accounting period ending on or after the 6th day of April, 1995.

(b) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects the year 1995-96 and any subsequent year of assessment.

31 Amendment of section 18 (date for payment of tax) of Finance Act, 1988.

31.—As respects the year 1995-96 and subsequent years of assessment, section 18 of the Finance Act, 1988, is hereby amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), by the insertion after “income tax” of “and subject to subsection (6)”,

(b) in subsection (2) by the substitution of the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) where the assessment is made on or after that date—

(i) if the chargeable period is a year of assessment for income tax, on or before the specified due date for that year of assessment,

(ii) if the chargeable period is a year of assessment for capital gains tax, on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period or, if later, not later than one month from the date on which the assessment is made, and

(iii) if the chargeable period is an accounting period of a company, not later than one month from the date on which the assessment is made.”,

(c) in paragraph (b) of subsection (3)—

(i) by the deletion of “or” in subparagraph (i), by the substitution of “period, or” for “period:” at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii) but before the first proviso thereto:

“(iii) in the case of an assessment to income tax for the said chargeable period being a year of assessment made on a chargeable person to whom subsection (6) applies, other than a chargeable person in relation to whom the amount of income tax payable or, taken in accordance with paragraph (I) of the first proviso to this subparagraph to be payable, for the pre-preceding chargeable period was nil, 105 per cent, of the income tax payable for the pre-preceding chargeable period:”,

(ii) in the first proviso to subparagraph (ii)—

(I) by the substitution of “subparagraphs (ii) and (iii)” for “this subparagraph”,

(II) by the substitution of the following for paragraph (I):

“(I) subject to subsection (3A), where the chargeable person was not a chargeable person for the immediately preceding chargeable period or for the pre-preceding chargeable period, the income tax payable for the immediately preceding chargeable period or the pre-preceding chargeable period, as the case may be, shall be taken to be nil, and”,

(III) in paragraph (II), by the insertion after “the immediately preceding chargeable period” of “or, in the case of a chargeable person to whom subsection (6) applies, the pre-preceding chargeable period,”,

and

(iii) in the second proviso to subparagraph (ii)—

(I) by the substitution of “subparagraphs (ii) and (iii)” for “this subparagraph”, and

(II) by the insertion in both paragraphs (a) and (b) after “the immediately preceding chargeable period” of “or, in the case of a chargeable person to whom subsection (6) applies, the pre-preceding chargeable period,” and by the insertion in both paragraphs (a) and (b) after “that immediately preceding chargeable period” of “or the pre-preceding chargeable period, as the case may be,”,

(d) by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3A) Where for a chargeable period, being a year of assessment for income tax, a chargeable person is assessed to tax in accordance with section 194 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and that person was not so assessed for the preceding chargeable period or for the pre-preceding chargeable period or for both of those periods either because the person's spouse was so assessed for either or both of those periods or because the person and the person's spouse were assessed to tax in accordance with section 193 or section 197 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, for either or both of those periods, subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and paragraph (I) of the first proviso to those subparagraphs shall apply as if the person and the person's spouse had elected in accordance with section 195 or section 195B of the Income Tax Act, 1967, as the case may be, for the person to be assessed to tax in accordance with the said section 194 for any of those periods for which the person or the person's spouse were entitled to so elect or would have been so entitled if section 195B of the Income Tax Act, 1967, had applied.”,

and

(e) by the addition after subsection (5) of the following subsections:

“(6) (a) Preliminary tax appropriate to a relevant chargeable period where the chargeable period is a year of assessment for income tax shall be due and payable in the case of a chargeable person to whom paragraph (b) applies in equal monthly instalments throughout the calendar year, or a part thereof, in which the due date for the payment of that preliminary tax in accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection (1) falls and the Collector-General shall debit the bank account of that chargeable person with such instalments on the 9th day of each month in that year or part thereof, as the case may be.

(b) This paragraph applies to a chargeable person who authorises the Collector-General to collect preliminary tax by the debiting of the bank account of the said person in accordance with paragraph (a) and who complies with such conditions as the Collector-General may reasonably impose to ensure that an amount of preliminary tax payable by a chargeable person for a chargeable period will be paid by that chargeable person in accordance with this subsection on or before the 9th day of December in the year of assessment to which the preliminary tax relates by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1).

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the Collector-General may at any time agree to alter the amount of preliminary tax to be debited to the bank account of the chargeable person in accordance with this subsection.

(d) For the purposes of this section, a chargeable person who pays an amount of preliminary tax appropriate to a relevant chargeable period in accordance with this subsection, shall be deemed to have paid that amount of preliminary tax on the due date for the payment of an amount of preliminary tax for that chargeable period.

(7) In this section—

‘pre-preceding chargeable period’, in relation to a chargeable period, means the chargeable period next before the immediately preceding chargeable period;

‘specified due date’ in relation to a year of assessment, means the 30th day of April in the year of assessment next after the year of assessment following that year of assessment.”.

32 Amendment of Chapter V (Urban Renewal: Relief from Income Tax and Corporation Tax) of Part I of Finance Act, 1986.

32.—(1) Chapter V (as amended by section 35 of the Finance Act, 1994) of Part I of the Finance Act, 1986, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 41, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) As respects the application of this Chapter to any expenditure incurred in relation to, or rent payable in respect of, any premises the site of which is wholly within the Custom House Docks Area, ‘the specified period’ means the period commencing on the 25th day of January, 1988, and ending on the 24th day of January, 1999.”,

(b) in section 42, in the additional proviso (inserted by section 29 (b) (ii) of the Finance Act, 1992) to subsection (4), by the substitution of “the 25th day of January, 1998” for “the 25th day of January, 1996”, and

(c) in section 44, in subsection (1) (b)—

(i) by the substitution, in subparagraph (i), of “125 square metres” for “90 square metres”, and

(ii) by the deletion of the proviso to that subsection.

(2) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects expenditure incurred on or after the 12th day of April, 1995.

33 Amendment of section 27 (designated areas for urban renewal relief) of Finance Act, 1987.

33.—Section 27 of the Finance Act, 1987, is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of “24th day of January, 1999” for “24th day of January, 1997” in paragraph (b) (inserted by section 36 (c) of the Finance Act, 1994).

34 Amendment of Chapter VII (Urban Renewal: Temple Bar and Other Areas) of Part I of Finance Act, 1991.

34.—(1) Chapter VII (as amended by section 37 of the Finance Act, 1994) of Part I of the Finance Act, 1991, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 54 (3)—

(i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “31st day of July, 1994” and “5th day of April, 1998” for “31st day of May, 1991” and “5th day of April, 1996” respectively, and

(ii) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “5th day of April, 1998” for “5th day of April, 1996”,

(b) in section 55—

(i) in subsection (1) (a), by the substitution of “5th day of April, 1998” for “5th day of April, 1996” in paragraph (i) of the definition of “qualifying building”,

(ii) in subsection (1) (b), by the deletion of clause (II) of subparagraph (ii), and

(iii) in subsection (2) (b), by the deletion of clause (III) of subparagraph (ii),

(c) in section 56—

(i) in subsection (1) (a), by the substitution of “5th day of April, 1998” for “5th day of April, 1996” in the definition of “qualifying period” in subparagraph (iii), and

(ii) in subsection (1) (b)—

(I) by the substitution of “125 square metres” for “90 square metres”, and

(II) by the deletion of the proviso to that subsection,

(d) in section 57 (2), by the substitution of “5th day of April, 1998” for “5th day of April, 1996” in the definition of “qualifying period” in paragraph (b), and

(e) in section 58 (2), by the substitution of “5th day of April, 1998” for “5th day of April, 1996” in both paragraph (a) and the definition of “qualifying period” in paragraph (c).

(2) Subparagraph (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b), and paragraph (c) (ii), of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects expenditure incurred on or after the 12th day of April, 1995.

35 Amendment of Chapter IV (Urban Renewal Reliefs: Introduction of New Scheme in Certain Areas) of Part I of Finance Act, 1994.

35.—(1) Chapter IV of Part I of the Finance Act, 1994, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 38 (1)—

(i) by the substitution of the following definitions for the definitions of “designated area” and “designated street”:

“‘designated area’ and ‘designated street’ mean, respectively, an area or areas or a street or streets specified as a designated area or a designated street, as the case may be, by order under section 39;”,

(ii) by the insertion of the following definition after the definitions of “designated area” and “designated street”:

“‘enterprise area’ means an area or areas specified as an enterprise area by order under section 39;”,

and

(iii) by the insertion in the definition of “qualifying period” after “subject to section 39” of “and other than for the purposes of section 41B”,

(b) in section 39, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a) of subsection (1):

“(a) the area or areas, or street or streets, described in the order shall be a designated area, a designated street or, as the case may be, an enterprise area for the purposes of this Chapter, and”,

(c) in section 40, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) Notwithstanding section 265 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, no balancing charge shall be made in relation to a building or structure to which this section applies by reason of any of the events specified in the said section 265 (1) which occurs—

(a) more than 13 years after the building or structure was first used, or

(b) in a case where section 26 of the Finance Act, 1991, applies and has effect, more than 13 years after the capital expenditure on refurbishment of the building or structure was incurred.”,

(d) in section 41, by the substitution of the following proviso for the proviso to subsection (1):

“Provided that—

(I) in relation to a building or structure no part of the site of which is within any one of the county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway or Waterford, the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall be construed as if the reference to ‘or an office’ were deleted;

(II) where, in relation to a building or structure any part of the site of which is within any one of the county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway or Waterford, any part (hereafter in this proviso referred to as ‘the specified part’) of the building or structure is not a qualifying premises and—

(A) the specified part is in use as, or as part of, an office, and

(B) the capital expenditure which has been incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of the specified part is not more than one-tenth of the total capital expenditure which has been incurred in that period on the construction or refurbishment of the building or structure,

then the specified part shall be treated as a qualifying premises.”,

(e) by the insertion of the following section after section 41:

“Capital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain buildings or structures in enterprise areas.

41 A.—(1) In this section—

‘the Minister’, except where the context otherwise requires, means the Minister for Enterprise and Employment;

‘qualifying building’ means a building or structure the site of which is wholly within an enterprise area and which is in use for the purposes of the carrying on of qualifying trading operations by a qualifying company, but does not include any part of a building or structure in use as, or as part of, a dwelling-house;

‘qualifying company’ means a company—

(a) which has been approved for financial assistance under a scheme administered by Forfás, Forbairt or the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland), and

(b) to which the Minister has given a certificate under subsection (2) which has not been withdrawn in accordance with the provisions of subsection (5) or (6);

‘qualifying trading operations’ means—

(a) the manufacture of goods within the meaning of Chapter VI of Part I of the Finance Act, 1980, or

(b) the rendering of services in the course of a service industry (within the meaning of the Industrial Development Act, 1986).

(2) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may—

(a) on the recommendation of Forfás (in conjunction with Forbairt or the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland), as may be appropriate), in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Minister, and

(b) following consultation with the Minister for Finance,

give a certificate to a company certifying that the company is, with effect from a date to be specified in the certificate, to be treated as a qualifying company for the purposes of this section.

(3) A certificate under subsection (2) may be given either without conditions or subject to such conditions as the Minister considers proper and specifies therein.

(4) The Minister shall not certify, under subsection (2), that a company is a qualifying company for the purposes of this section unless—

(a) the company is carrying on, or intends to carry on, qualifying trading operations within an enterprise area, and

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the carrying on by the company of such trading operations will contribute to the balanced development of the enterprise area.

(5) Where, in the case of a company in relation to which a certificate under subsection (2) has been given—

(a) the company ceases to carry on or, as the case may be, fails to commence to carry on qualifying trading operations within the enterprise area, or

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the company has failed to comply with any condition subject to which the said certificate was given,

the Minister may, by notice in writing served by registered post on the company, revoke the said certificate with effect from such date as may be specified in the notice.

(6) Where, in the case of a company in relation to which a certificate under subsection (2) has been given, the Minister is of the opinion that any activity of the company has had, or may have, an adverse effect on the use or development of the enterprise area or is otherwise inimical to the balanced development of the enterprise area, then—

(a) the Minister may, by notice in writing served by registered post on the company, require the company to desist from such activity with effect from such date as may be specified in the notice, and

(b) if the Minister is not satisfied that the company has complied with the requirements of the said notice, he may, by a further notice in writing served by registered post on the company, revoke the certificate with effect from such date as may be specified in the said further notice.

(7) Subject to the modifications provided for in subsections (8) and (9), all the provisions of the Tax Acts (other than section 40) relating to the making of allowances or charges in respect of capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of an industrial building or structure shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary therein, apply as if a qualifying building were, at all times at which it is a qualifying building, a building or structure in respect of which an allowance falls to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV, or Chapter I of Part XVI, of the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of its use for a purpose specified in section 255 (1) (a) of that Act:

Provided that an allowance shall be given by reason of this subsection in respect of any capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying building only in so far as that expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period.

(8) For the purposes of the application by subsection (7) of section 254 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying building—

(a) the said section 254 shall have effect—

(i) as if, in paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1990) of subsection (2A), the reference to ‘before the 1st day of April, 1992’ were a reference to ‘before the 1st day of August, 1997’, and

(ii) as if subsection (2B) (inserted by the said section 74) were deleted,

and

(b) the said section 25 shall have effect—

(i) as if, in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (inserted by section 48 of the Finance Act, 1988)—

(I) the reference in subparagraph (ii) (inserted by section 76 of the Finance Act, 1990) to ‘before the 1st day of April, 1991’ were a reference to ‘before the 1st day of August, 1997’, and

(II) subparagraph (iii) (inserted by the said section 76) were deleted,

and

(ii) as if subsection (2A) (inserted by the said section 76) were deleted.

(9) Notwithstanding section 265 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, no balancing charge shall be made in relation to a qualifying building by reason of any of the events specified in the said section 265 (1) which occurs—

(a) more than 13 years after the qualifying building was first used, or

(b) in a case where section 26 of the Finance Act, 1991, applies and has effect, more than 13 years after the capital expenditure on refurbishment of the qualifying building was incurred.

(10) For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance by virtue of subsection (7), whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying building is incurred or not incurred in the qualifying period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction or refurbishment of the building which was actually carried out during the qualifying period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is, or is to be treated as, incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.”,

(f) by the insertion of the following section after section 41A (inserted by paragraph (e)):

“Capital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain multi-storey car-parks.

41B.—(1) In this section—

‘multi-storey car-park’ means a building or structure consisting of two or more storeys wholly in use for the purpose of providing, for members of the public generally without preference for any particular class of person, upon payment of an appropriate charge, parking space for mechanically propelled vehicles;

‘qualifying multi-storey car-park’ means a multi-storey car-park in respect of which the relevant local authority gives a certificate in writing to the person providing the multi-storey car-park stating that it is satisfied that the said car-park has been developed in accordance with criteria laid down by the Minister for the Environment following consultation with the Minister for Finance;

‘qualifying period’ means the period commencing on the 1st day of July, 1995, and ending on the 30th day of June, 1998;

‘the relevant local authority’, in relation to the construction or refurbishment of a multi-storey car-park, means the council of a county or other borough or, where appropriate, the urban district council, in whose functional area the multi-storey car-park is situated.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and the modifications provided for in subsections (4) to (6), all the provisions of the Tax Acts (other than section 40) relating to the making of allowances or charges in respect of capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of an industrial building or structure shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary therein, apply as if a qualifying multi-storey car-park were, at all times at which it is a qualifying multi-storey carpark, a building or structure in respect of which an allowance falls to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV, or Chapter I of Part XVI, of the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of its use for a purpose specified in section 255 (1) (a) of that Act:

Provided that an allowance shall be given by reason of this subsection in respect of any capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park only in so far as that expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period.

(3) In the case where capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period on the refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park, subsection (2) shall apply only if the total amount of the capital expenditure so incurred is not less than an amount which is equal to 20 per cent, of the market value of the qualifying multi-storey car-park immediately before the said expenditure is incurred.

(4) For the purposes of the application by subsection (2) of section 254 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park—

(a) the said section 254 shall, notwithstanding section 22 of the Finance Act, 1991, have effect—

(i) as if, in paragraph (a) of subsection (2A), the reference to ‘the 1st day of April, 1991’ (as provided for in section 50 of the Finance Act, 1988) were a reference to ‘the first day of July, 1998’,

(ii) as if paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1990) of subsection (2A) were deleted, and

(iii) as if subsection (2B) (inserted by the said section 74) were deleted,

and

(b) the said section 25 shall have effect—

(i) as if paragraph (b) (as amended by section 76 of the Finance Act, 1990) of subsection (2) (inserted by section 48 of the Finance Act, 1988) were deleted, and

(ii) as if subsection (2A) (inserted by the said section 76) were deleted.

(5) Notwithstanding section 265 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, no balancing charge shall be made in relation to a qualifying multi-storey car-park by reason of any of the events specified in the said section 265 (1) which occurs—

(a) more than 13 years after the qualifying multi-storey car-park was first used, or

(b) in a case where section 26 of the Finance Act, 1991, applies and has effect, more than 13 years after the capital expenditure on refurbishment of the multi-storey car-park was incurred.

(6) (a) Notwithstanding subsections (2) to (5), any allowance or charge which, apart from this subsection, would fall to be made by reason of subsection (2) in respect of capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park shall be reduced to one-half of the amount which, apart from this subsection, would be the amount of that allowance or charge.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the amount of an allowance or charge falling to be reduced to one-half thereof shall be computed—

(i) as if this subsection had not been enacted, and

(ii) as if effect had been given to all allowances taken into account in so computing that amount.

(c) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the operation of section 265 (5) of the Income Tax Act, 1967.

(7) For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance by virtue of subsection (2), whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park is incurred or not incurred in the qualifying period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction or refurbishment of the qualifying multi-storey car-park which was actually carried out during the qualifying period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is, or is to be treated as, incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.

(8) Where, by reason of subsection (2), an allowance is given under Chapter II of Part XV, or Chapter I of Part XVI, of the Income Tax Act, 1967, in respect of capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying multi-storey car-park, no allowance shall be given in respect of that expenditure under the said Chapter II or the said Chapter I by reason of any other provision of the Tax Acts.”,

(g) in section 42 (1)—

(i) in the definition of “qualifying lease”, by the insertion after “in the qualifying period” of “, or, in the case of a qualifying premises which is such a premises by virtue of being a building or structure of the type referred to in subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘qualifying premises’, in the period commencing on the 1st day of July, 1995, and ending on the 30th day of June, 1998,”, and

(ii) in the definition of “qualifying premises”—

(I) by the deletion of “the site of which is wholly within a designated area and”,

(II) by the insertion in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) before “which is a building or structure” of “the site of which is wholly within a designated area and”,

(III) by the insertion in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) before “in respect of which an allowance falls” of “the site of which is wholly within a designated area and”,

(IV) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a):

“(iia) the site of which is wholly within an enterprise area and in respect of which an allowance falls, or will, by virtue of the said section 19, fall, to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of section 41A, or”,

(V) in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a)—

(A) by the insertion of “the site of which is wholly within a designated area” before “which is a building or structure”, and

(B) by the insertion of “or” after “the Income Tax Act, 1967,”,

and

(VI) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a):“(iv) in respect of which an allowance falls, or will, by virtue of the said section 19, fall, to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of section 41B,”,

(h) in section 43 (1), by the substitution of “125 square metres” for “90 square metres” in paragraph (c) (i) of the definition of “qualifying premises”, and

(i) in section 46 (1)—

(i) by the substitution of “125 square metres” for “90 square metres” in paragraph (d) (i) of the definition of “qualifying premises”, and

(ii) by the deletion of the proviso to that definition.

(2) (a) Subsection (1), apart from paragraphs (a) (iii), (c) and (f), subparagraph (i), and clauses (V) (B) and (VI) of subparagraph (ii), of paragraph (g) and paragraphs (h) and (i) thereof, shall be deemed to have come into operation as on and from the 1st day of August, 1994.

(b) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as on and from the 12th day of April, 1995.

(c) Paragraph (f), and subparagraph (i), and clauses (V) (B) and (VI) of subparagraph (ii), of paragraph (g), of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as on and from the 1st day of July, 1995.

(d) Paragraphs (h) and (i) of subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects expenditure incurred on or after the 12th day of April, 1995.

36 Amendment of section 35 (relief for investments in films) of Finance Act, 1987.

36.—(1) Section 35 of the Finance Act, 1987, is hereby amended—

(a) in paragraph (b) of subsection (1A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994)—

(i) in subparagraph (i) by the substitution for “be subject to” of “without prejudice to the generality of subparagraph (ii), be subject to”, and

(ii) in subparagraph (ii) by the deletion of “other”;

(b) by the substitution for subsection (4B) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994) of the following subsection:

“(4B) Before issuing a certificate for the purposes of subsection (4A) a company shall furnish the authorised officer with—

(a) a statement to the effect that it satisfies or will satisfy the conditions for the relief, so far as they apply in relation to the company and a film, and

(b) a copy of the certificate, issued by the Minister under subsection (1A) in respect of the film and certifying that it is a qualifying film.”;

and

(c) in paragraph (c) of subsection (5) (as inserted by the Finance Act, 1993) by the substitution for “directly or indirectly, any payment from” of “any payment, in money or money's worth, or other benefit directly or indirectly borne by, or attributable to,”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply and have effect as respects—

(a) paragraph (a) as respects any certificate given after the 12th day of April, 1995, by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht under subsection (1 A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994) of section 35 of the Finance Act, 1987;

(b) paragraph (b) as respects any certificate issued after the 12th day of April, 1995, by a company for the purposes of subsection (4A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994) of the said section 35; and

(c) paragraph (c) as respects any sum of money paid after the 12th day of April, 1995, in respect of which relief is claimed under the said section 35.

37 Non-distributing investment companies.

37.—Chapter VII of Part I of the Finance Act, 1983, is hereby amended by the insertion after section 47 of the following section:

“47A.—(1) In this section a ‘relevant company’ means a company which—

(a) is an investment company, within the meaning of Part XIII of the Companies Act, 1990,

(b) is a qualified company within the meaning of section 39B (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987) of the Finance Act, 1980, and

(c) makes only one payment in respect of any share or security issued by it, being a payment made in the redemption, repayment or purchase of the share.

(2) Where a company proves that it is a relevant company and claims to have every payment made by it in the redemption, repayment or purchase of shares issued by it treated as not being, or including, a distribution for the purposes of section 38, then—

(a) every such payment shall be so treated, and

(b) notwithstanding any provision of the Tax Acts, the person to whom each such payment is made shall not be entitled to a tax credit in respect of it.

(3) A claim under this section shall be made in writing to the inspector, in a form prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners, and submitted together with the company's return of profits for the accounting period which is the first accounting period in which the company makes any payment to which subsection (2) relates.”.

38 Amendment of section 18 (taxation of collective investment undertakings) of Finance Act, 1989.

38.—Section 18 of the Finance Act, 1989, is hereby amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by the insertion after the definition of “chargeable gains” of the following definition:

“‘collective investor’ means, in relation to an authorised investment company within the meaning of Part XIII of the Companies Act, 1990, an investor, being a life assurance company, pension fund or other investor—

(a) who invests in securities or any other property whatsoever with moneys contributed by fifty or more persons—

(i) none of whom has at any time directly or indirectly contributed more than five per cent, of such moneys, and

(ii) each of a majority of whom has contributed moneys to the investor with the intention of being entitled, otherwise than on the death of any person or by reference to a risk of any kind to any person or property, to receive from the investor—

(I) a payment which, or

(II) payments, the aggregate of which

exceeds those moneys by a part of the profits or income arising to the investor,

and

(b) who invests in the authorised investment company primarily for the benefit of those persons;”,

and

(b) in the definition of “collective investment undertaking” by the substitution for subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of the following subparagraph:

“(ii) (I) which has been designated in that authorisation as an investment company which may raise capital by promoting the sale of its shares to the public and has not ceased to be so designated, or

(II) (A) which is not a qualified company,

(B) which in addition to being a collective investment undertaking is also a specified collective investment undertaking, and

(C) where all the holders of units who must be resident outside the State, for the company to be a specified collective investment undertaking, are collective investors;”.

39 Amendment of section 27 (distributions to non-residents) of Finance Act, 1994.

39.—As respects distributions made on or after the 6th day of April, 1992, section 27 of the Finance Act, 1994, is hereby amended by the substitution of “6th day of April, 1992,” for “6 April, 1994,”.

40 Certain interest not to be chargeable.

40.—Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts, but without prejudice to any charge under the Corporation Tax Acts on the profits of such person, a person not ordinarily resident in the State shall not be chargeable to income tax in respect of interest paid by a company in the course of carrying on relevant trading operations within the meaning of section 39A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1981) or section 39B (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987) of the Finance Act, 1980.

41 Returns of material interest in offshore funds.

41.—Part VII of the Finance Act, 1992, is hereby amended by the insertion after section 230 of the following section:

“230A.—(1) In this section—

‘material interest’ shall be construed in accordance with section 65 (2) of the Finance Act, 1990;

‘offshore fund’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 65 (1) of the Finance Act, 1990:

Provided that a relevant UCITS, within the meaning of section 19 (1) of the Finance Act, 1989, shall not be an offshore fund.

(2) As respects a material interest in an offshore fund, section 230 shall apply, with any necessary modification, where it would not otherwise apply to the following persons—

(a) to every person carrying on in the State a trade or business in the ordinary course of the operations of which such person acts as an intermediary in, or in connection with, the acquisition of such an interest in the same manner as it applies to every intermediary within the meaning of that section, and

(b) to a person resident or ordinarily resident in the State who acquires such an interest, in the same manner as it applies to a person resident in the State opening an account, in which a deposit which he beneficially owns is held, at a location outside the State,

as if in that section—

(i) references to a deposit were references to any payment made by a person resident or ordinarily resident in the State in acquiring such an interest;

(ii) references to a foreign account were references to such an interest;

(iii) references, however expressed, to the opening of a foreign account were references to the acquisition of such an interest;

(iv) references to a relevant person were references to an offshore fund;

(v) the reference to 1992-93 were a reference to 1995-96; and

(vi) references to the 1st day of June, 1992, were references to the 1st day of June, 1995.”.

42 Amendment of Chapter VI (Petroleum Taxation) of Part I of Finance Act, 1992.

42.—Chapter VI of Part I of the Finance Act, 1992, is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1) of section 75—

(i) in the definition of “development expenditure”—

(I) by the substitution for paragraph (c) of the following:

“(c) any other assets,”,

(II) by the substitution for “but does not include” of “which are of such a nature that, when the relevant field ceases to be worked, they are likely to be so diminished in value that their value will be little or nothing, but does not include”, and

(III) by the substitution for paragraph (vi) of the following:

“(vi) expenditure on—

(I) machinery or plant, or

(II) works, buildings or structures,

which are provided for the processing or storing of petroleum won in the course of carrying on petroleum extraction activities, other than the initial treatment and storage of such petroleum,

or”,

and

(ii) in the definition of “licence”, by the insertion after paragraph (a) of the following paragraphs:

“(aa) a lease undertaking,

(aaa) a licensing option,”,

and

(b) in subsection (1) of section 77 by the addition of the following proviso to the definition of “relevant petroleum lease”:

“Provided that a petroleum lease in respect of a relevant field shall be a relevant petroleum lease where—

(i) the field was discovered under a lease which is not a licence,

(ii) the lease under which the field was discovered expired before the petroleum lease is granted, and

(iii) the petroleum lease is granted by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications before the 1st day of June, 2003.”.

43 Exemption of certain employment grants to certain industrial undertakings.

43.—(1) A grant to which this section applies shall be disregarded for all the purposes of the Tax Acts.

(2) This section applies to a grant made on or after the 1st day of April, 1995, under section 10 (5) (a) of the Údarás na Gaeltachta Act, 1979, or section 21 (5) (a) (as amended by the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act, 1991) of the Industrial Development Act, 1986, being an employment grant—

(a) in the case of the said section 10 (5) (a) under the scheme known as “Deontais Fhostaíochta ó Údarás na Gaeltachta do Ghnóthais Mhóra/Mheánmhéide Thionsclaíocha”, or

(b) in the case of the said section 21 (5) (a) under the scheme known as “Scheme Governing the Making of Employment Grants to Medium/Large Industrial Undertakings”.

44 Exemption of the Irish Horseracing Authority, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Limited and the Tote.

44.—(1) In this section—

“the authority” means the Irish Horseracing Authority;

“the company” means the company incorporated on the 1st day of December, 1994, as Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Limited;

“the Tote” means the company incorporated on the 1st day of December, 1994, as Tote Ireland Limited.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of the Corporation Tax Acts, profits arising to the authority, the company or the Tote in any accounting period ending on or after the 1st day of December, 1994, shall be exempt from corporation tax.

(3) As regards disposals made on or after the 1st day of December, 1994, section 23 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975, shall apply to a gain accruing to the authority, the company or the Tote as it does to a body specified in that section.

45 Tax credits in respect of distributions.

45.—(1) The provisions of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976, specified in paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule shall have effect in relation to distributions made on or after the 6th day of April, 1995, as if the standard rate for the year 1995-96 and subsequent years of assessment were 23 per cent.

(2) The Second Schedule shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing subsection (1).

Chapter III Income Tax and Corporation Tax: Reliefs for Renewal and Improvement of Certain Resort Areas

46 Interpretation (Chapter III).

46.—(1) In this Chapter—

“lease”, “lessee”, “lessor” and “rent” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967;

“market value”, in relation to a building or structure, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the building or structure would fetch if sold in the open market in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the best price for the building or structure:

Provided that the said price shall be reduced by the part of that price which would be attributable to the acquisition of, or of rights in or over, the land on which the building or structure is constructed;

“qualifying period” means the period commencing on the 1st day of July, 1995, and ending on the 30th day of June, 1998;

“qualifying resort area” means any area described in Part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI or XII of the Third Schedule;

“refurbishment”, in relation to a building or structure and other than for the purposes of section 52, means any work of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal, including the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities, carried out in the course of the repair or restoration, or maintenance in the nature of repair or restoration, of the building or structure.

(2) A person shall, for the purposes of this Chapter, be regarded as connected with another person if such person would be so regarded for the purposes of Part IV of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, by virtue of section 16 (3) of that Act.

47 Accelerated capital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain industrial buildings or structures.

47.—(1) This section shall apply to a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area and which is to be an industrial building or structure by reason of its use for the purposes specified in section 255 (1) (d) of the Income Tax Act, 1967.

(2) Subject to subsection (5), section 254 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, shall have effect in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a building or structure to which this section applies—

(a) as if, in subsection (1) of the said section 254, the reference to “one-tenth” were a reference to “one-half”, and

(b) as if both subsection (2) and subsection (2B) (inserted by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1990) of the said section 254 were deleted.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), section 264 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, shall have effect in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a building or structure to which this section applies—

(a) as if, in subsection (1) (apart from the proviso thereto) of the said section 264, the reference to “one-fiftieth” were a reference to “one-twentieth”, and

(b) as if the proviso to the said subsection (1) were deleted.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, shall have effect in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a building or structure to which this section applies—

(a) as if, in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (inserted by section 48 of the Finance Act, 1988) of the said section 25—

(i) the reference in subparagraph (i) to “before the 1st day of April, 1989,75 per cent., or” were a reference to “before the 1st day of July, 1998, 75 per cent.,”, and

(ii) subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) (inserted by section 76 of the Finance Act, 1990) were deleted,

and

(b) as if subsection (2A) (inserted by the said section 76) of the said section 25 were deleted.

(5) In the case where capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period on the refurbishment of a building or structure to which this section applies, subsections (2), (3) and (4) shall apply only if the total amount of the capital expenditure so incurred is not less than an amount which is equal to 20 per cent, of the market value of the building or structure immediately before the said expenditure is incurred.

(6) For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance under section 254 or 264 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, or section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, as applied by this section, whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of an industrial building or structure is incurred or not incurred in the qualifying period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction or, as the case may be, the refurbishment of the building or structure which was actually carried out during the qualifying period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is, or is to be treated as, incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.

48 Capital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain commercial premises.

48.—(1) In this section—

“qualifying premises” means a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area and which—

(a) apart from this section, is not an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and

(b) is in use for the purposes of the operation of one or more qualifying tourism facilities,

but does not include any part of a building or structure in use as, or as part of, a dwelling-house, other than a tourist accommodation facility of the type referred to in the definition of “qualifying tourism facilities”;

“qualifying tourism facilities” means—

(a) tourist accommodation facilities registered by Bord Fáilte Éireann under Part III of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1939, or listed under section 9 of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1957, and

(b) such other classes of facilities as may be approved of for the purposes of this section by the Minister for Tourism and Trade, in consultation with the Minister for Finance.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and the modifications provided for in subsections (4) to (6), all the provisions of the Tax Acts (other than section 40 of the Finance Act, 1994) relating to the making of allowances or charges in respect of capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of an industrial building or structure shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary therein, apply—

(a) as if a qualifying premises were, at all times at which it is a qualifying premises, a building or structure in respect of which an allowance falls to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV, or Chapter I of Part XVI, of the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of its use for a purpose specified in section 255 (1) (a) of that Act, and

(b) where any activity carried on in the qualifying premises is not a trade, as if it were a trade:

Provided that an allowance shall be given by reason of this subsection in respect of any capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying premises only in so far as that expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period.

(3) In the case where capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period on the refurbishment of a qualifying premises, subsection (2) shall apply only if the total amount of the capital expenditure so incurred is not less than an amount which is equal to 20 per cent, of the market value of the qualifying premises immediately before the said expenditure is incurred.

(4) For the purposes of the application by subsection (2) of section 254 and section 264 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, in relation to capital expenditure which is incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying premises—

(a) the said section 254 shall, notwithstanding section 22 of the Finance Act, 1991, have effect—

(i) as if, in paragraph (a) of subsection (2A), the reference to the 1st day of April, 1991 (as provided for in section 50 of the Finance Act, 1988) were a reference to the 1st day of July, 1998,

(ii) as if paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1990) of subsection (2A) were deleted, and

(iii) as if subsection (2B) (inserted by the said section 74) were deleted,

(b) the said section 264 shall have effect—

(i) as if, in subsection (1) (apart from the proviso thereto), the reference to “one-fiftieth” were a reference to “one-twentieth”, and

(ii) as if the proviso to subsection (1) were deleted,

and

(c) the said section 25 shall have effect—

(i) as if, in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (inserted by section 48 of the Finance Act, 1988)—

(I) the reference in subparagraph (i) to “before the 1st day of April, 1989, 75 per cent., or” were a reference to “before the 1st day of July, 1998, 75 per cent.,”, and

(II) subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) (inserted by section 76 of the Finance Act, 1990) were deleted,

and

(ii) as if subsection (2A) (inserted by the said section 76) were deleted.

(5) In the case of a qualifying premises which is such a premises by virtue of being a tourist accommodation facility of a type referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “qualifying premises” in subsection (1)—

(a) the event of the premises ceasing to be registered or listed in the manner referred to in the said paragraph of the said definition shall be treated as if it were an event specified in subsection (1) of section 265 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and

(b) for the purposes of the application of the said section 265 on the occurrence of any such event there shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 304 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, be treated as arising in relation to that event sale, insurance, salvage or compensation moneys in an amount equal to the aggregate of—

(i) the residue of the expenditure (within the meaning of section 266 of the Income Tax Act, 1967) incurred on the construction or refurbishment of the premises immediately before that event, and

(ii) the allowances made under Chapter II of Part XV, or Chapter I of Part XVI, of the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of subsection (2), in respect of the expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of the premises.

(6) Notwithstanding section 265 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, no balancing charge shall be made in relation to any qualifying premises by reason of any of the events specified, or, by virtue of subsection (5), treated as specified, in the said section 265 (1) which occurs—

(a) more than 11 years after the qualifying premises were first used, or

(b) in the case where section 26 of the Finance Act, 1991, applies and has effect, more than 11 years after the capital expenditure on refurbishment of the qualifying premises was incurred.

(7) For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance by virtue of subsection (2), whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying premises is incurred or not incurred in the qualifying period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction or refurbishment of the premises which was actually carried out during the qualifying period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is, or is to be treated as, incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.

(8) Where, by reason of subsection (2), an allowance is given under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967, in respect of any capital expenditure which is incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying premises, relief shall not be given in respect of that expenditure under any provision of the Tax Acts other than the said Chapter II or the said Chapter I.

49 Double rent allowance in respect of rent paid for certain business premises.

49.—(1) In this section—

“qualifying lease” means a lease in respect of a qualifying premises granted in the qualifying period on bona fide commercial terms by a lessor to a lessee who is not connected with the lessor, or with any other person who is entitled to a rent in respect of the qualifying premises, whether under that lease or any other lease;

“qualifying premises” means a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area and—

(a) (i) which is a building or structure in use for the purposes specified in section 255 (1) (d) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and in respect of which capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period for which an allowance falls, or will, by virtue of section 19 (as amended by section 23 of the Finance Act, 1991) of the Finance Act, 1970, fall, to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under section 254 or 264 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, or section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978, as applied by section 47, or

(ii) in respect of which an allowance falls, or will (by virtue of the said section 19) fall, to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967, by reason of section 48,

and

(b) which is let on bona fide commercial terms for such consideration as might be expected to be paid in a letting of the building or structure which was negotiated on an arm's length basis:

Provided that where capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period on the refurbishment of a building or structure in respect of which an allowance falls, or will, by virtue of the said section 19, fall, to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under any of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a) of this definition, the building or structure shall not be regarded as a qualifying premises unless the total amount of the expenditure so incurred is not less than an amount which is equal to 20 per cent, of the market value of the building or structure immediately before the said expenditure is incurred.

(2) For the purposes of this section, so much of a period, being a period when rent is payable by a person in relation to a qualifying premises under a qualifying lease, shall be a relevant rental period as does not exceed—

(a) 10 years, or

(b) the period by which 10 years exceeds—

(i) any preceding period, or

(ii) if there is more than one preceding period, the aggregate of preceding periods,

for which rent was payable by that person or any other person in relation to that premises under a qualifying lease.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), where, in the computation of the amount of the profits or gains of a trade or profession, a person is, apart from this section, entitled to any deduction (hereafter in this subsection referred to as “the first-mentioned deduction”) on account of rent in respect of a qualifying premises occupied by such person for the purposes of that trade or profession which is payable by such person for a relevant rental period in relation to that qualifying premises under a qualifying lease, then such person shall be entitled in that computation to a further deduction equal to the amount of the first-mentioned deduction.

(4) Where a person holds an interest in a qualifying premises out of which interest a qualifying lease is created, directly or indirectly, in respect of the qualifying premises and in respect of rent payable under the qualifying lease a claim for a further deduction under this section is made, and either such person or another person who is connected with such person—

(a) takes under a qualifying lease a qualifying premises (hereafter in this subsection referred to as “the second-mentioned premises”) which is occupied by such person or such other person, as the case may be, for the purposes of a trade or profession, and

(b) is, apart from this section, entitled, in the computation of the amount of the profits or gains of that trade or profession, to a deduction on account of rent in respect of the second-mentioned premises,

then, unless such person or such other person, as the case may be, shows that the taking on lease of the second-mentioned premises was not undertaken for the sole or main benefit of obtaining a further deduction on account of rent under the provisions of this section, such person or such other person, as the case may be, shall not be entitled in the computation of the amount of the profits or gains of that trade or profession to any further deduction on account of rent in respect of the second-mentioned premises.

(5) Section 33 (as amended by section 42 (8) of the Finance Act, 1994) of the Finance Act, 1990, is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “section 42 of the Finance Act, 1994, or section 49 of the Finance Act, 1995” for “or section 42 of the Finance Act, 1994”, and

(b) in subsection (2) (a), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “qualifying premises”:

“‘qualifying premises’ means a qualifying premises within the meaning of section 45 of the Finance Act, 1986, section 42 of the Finance Act, 1994, or section 49 of the Finance Act, 1995;”.

50 Deduction for certain expenditure on construction of rented residential accommodation.

50.—(1) In this section—

“qualifying lease”, in relation to a house, means, subject to section 53 (3), a lease of the house the consideration for the grant of which consists solely of—

(a) a single payment which is, or falls to be treated as, an amount by way of rent for the purposes of Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967, or

(b) periodic payments all of which are, or fall to be treated as, amounts by way of rent for the purposes of the said Chapter VI;

“qualifying premises” means, subject to subsections (4), (5) (a), (6) and (7) of section 53, a house—

(a) the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area,

(b) which is used solely as a dwelling,

(c) the total floor area of which—

(i) is not less than 30 square metres and not more than 125 square metres in the case where the house is a separate self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of two or more storeys, or

(ii) is not less than 35 square metres and not more than 125 square metres in any other case,

(d) in respect of which, if it is not a new house (within the meaning of section 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979) provided for sale, there is in force a certificate of reasonable cost, the amount specified in which in respect of the cost of construction of the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the expenditure actually incurred on such construction, and

(e) which, without having been used, is first let in its entirety under a qualifying lease and thereafter throughout the remainder of the relevant period (save for reasonable periods of temporary disuse between the ending of one qualifying lease and the commencement of another such lease) continues to be let under such a lease;

“relevant cost”, in relation to a house, means, subject to subsection (3), an amount equal to the aggregate of—

(a) the expenditure incurred on the acquisition of, or of rights in or over, any land on which the house is constructed, and

(b) the expenditure actually incurred on the construction of the house;

“relevant period”, in relation to a qualifying premises, means the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the first letting of the premises under a qualifying lease.

(2) Where a person, having made a claim in that behalf, proves to have incurred expenditure on the construction of a qualifying premises, such person shall be entitled, in computing, for the purposes of subsection (4) of section 81 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, the amount of a surplus or deficiency in respect of the rent from the said premises, to a deduction of so much (if any) of that expenditure as falls to be treated, under section 53 (9) or any of the provisions of this section, as having been incurred by such person in the qualifying period, and all the provisions of Chapter VI of Part IV of the said Act shall apply as if the said deduction were a deduction authorised by the provisions of subsection (5) of the said section 81.

(3) Where a qualifying premises forms part of a building or is one of a number of buildings in a single development, or forms part of a building which is itself one of a number of buildings in a single development, there shall be made such apportionment as is necessary—

(a) of the expenditure incurred on the construction of the said building or buildings, and

(b) of the amount which would be the relevant cost in relation to the said building or buildings if the building or buildings, as the case may be, were a single qualifying premises,

for the purposes of determining the expenditure incurred on the construction of the qualifying premises and the relevant cost in relation to the qualifying premises.

(4) Where a house is a qualifying premises and at any time during the relevant period in relation to the premises either of the following events occurs:

(a) the house ceases to be a qualifying premises, or

(b) the ownership of the lessor's interest in the house passes to any other person but the house does not cease to be a qualifying premises,

then the person who, before the occurrence of the event, received or was entitled to receive a deduction under subsection (2) in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction of the qualifying premises shall be deemed to have received on the day before the day of the occurrence an amount by way of rent from the qualifying premises equal to the amount of the deduction.

(5) (a) Where the event mentioned in subsection (4) (b) occurs in the relevant period in relation to a house which is a qualifying premises, the person to whom the ownership of the lessor's interest in the said house passes shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period an amount of expenditure on the construction of the said house equal to the amount which, under section 53 (9) or any of the provisions of this section, the said lessor was treated as having incurred in the qualifying period on the construction of the said house:

Provided that, in the case of a person who purchases such a house, the amount so treated as having been incurred by such person shall not exceed the relevant price paid by such person on the sale.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection and subsection (6), the relevant price paid by a person on the sale of a house shall be the amount which bears to the net price paid by such person on that sale the same proportion as the amount of the expenditure actually incurred on the construction of the house which falls to be treated under section 53 (9) as having been incurred in the qualifying period bears to the relevant cost in relation to that house.

(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where expenditure is incurred on the construction of a house and before the house is used it is sold, the person who buys the house shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period expenditure on the construction of the house equal to the amount of such expenditure which falls to be treated under section 53 (9) as having been incurred in the qualifying period or the relevant price paid by such person on the sale, whichever is the lower:

Provided that, where the house is sold more than once before it is used, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect only in relation to the last of those sales.

(b) Where expenditure is incurred on the construction of a house by a person carrying on a trade or part of a trade which consists, as to the whole or any part thereof, of the construction of buildings with a view to their sale and the house, before it is used, is sold in the course of that trade or, as the case may be, that part of that trade, the person who buys the house shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period expenditure on the construction of the house equal to the relevant price paid by such person on the said sale (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as “the first sale”) and, in relation to any subsequent sale or sales of the house before the house is used, paragraph (a) shall have effect as if the reference to the amount of expenditure which falls to be treated as having been incurred in the qualifying period were a reference to the said relevant price paid on the first sale.

(7) The provisions of section 53 shall have effect for the purposes of supplementing this section.

51 Rented residential accommodation: deduction for expenditure on conversion.

51.—(1) In this section—

“conversion expenditure” means, subject to subsection (2), expenditure incurred on—

(a) the conversion into a house of a building—

(i) the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area, and

(ii) which, prior to the conversion, had not been in use as a dwelling,

and

(b) the conversion into two or more houses of a building—

(i) the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area, and

(ii) which, prior to the conversion, had not been in use as a dwelling or had been in use as a single dwelling,

and references in this section and section 53 to “conversion”, “conversion into a house” and “expenditure incurred on conversion” shall be construed accordingly;