Finance Act 2013

Finance Act 2013 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2013 Finance Act 2013 Finance Act 2013 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 8 of 2013 FINANCE ACT 2013 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Income Levy, Universal Social Charge, Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter 1

Interpretation Section

Section 1

Chapter 2

Universal Social Charge

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Chapter 3

Income Tax

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Section 9

Section 10

Section 11

Section 12

Section 13

Section 14

Section 15

Section 16

Section 17

Section 18

Chapter 4

Income Levy, Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Section 19

Section 20

Section 21

Section 22

Section 23

Section 24

Section 25

Section 26

Section 27

Section 28

Section 29

Section 30

Section 31

Section 32

Chapter 5

Corporation Tax

Section 33

Section 34

Section 35

Section 36

Section 37

Section 38

Section 39

Section 40

Section 41

Section 42

Chapter 6

Capital Gains Tax

Section 43

Section 44

Section 45

Section 46

Section 47

Section 48

PART 2

Excise

Section 49

Section 50

Section 51

Section 52

Section 53

Section 54

Section 55

Section 56

Section 57

Section 58

Section 59

Section 60

Section 61

Section 62

Section 63

Section 64

Section 65

Section 66

PART 3

Value-Added Tax

Section 67

Section 68

Section 69

Section 70

Section 71

Section 72

Section 73

Section 74

Section 75

PART 4

Stamp Duties

Section 76

Section 77

Section 78

Section 79

Section 80

Section 81

Section 82

Section 83

PART 5

Capital Acquisitions Tax

Section 84

Section 85

Section 86

Section 87

Section 88

Section 89

Section 90

PART 6

Miscellaneous

Section 91

Section 92

Section 93

Section 94

Section 95

Section 96

Section 97

Section 98

Section 99

Section 100

Section 101

Section 102

Section 103

Section 104

Section 105

Section 106

Section 107

Section 108

SCHEDULE 1 Amendment of Assessing Rules Including Rules for Self- Assessment

PART 1

Amendment of Part 41A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

PART 2

Other amendments of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 SCHEDULE 2 Miscellaneous Technical Amendments in relation to Tax Acts Referred to Broadcasting Act 2009 2009, No. 18 Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 2003, No. 1 Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 2010, No. 24 Criminal Procedure Act 1967 1967, No. 12 Deeds of Arrangement Act 1887 50 & 51 Vict., c. 57 Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 2008, No. 15 Finance Act 1950 1950, No. 18 Finance Act 1992 1992, No. 9 Finance Act 1993 1993, No. 13 Finance Act 1999 1999, No. 2 Finance Act 2001 2001, No. 7 Finance Act 2002 2002, No. 5 Finance Act 2003 2003, No. 3 Finance Act 2005 2005, No. 5 Finance Act 2008 2008, No. 3 Finance Act 2010 2010, No. 5 Finance Act 2011 2011, No. 6 Finance Act 2012 2012, No. 9 Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 2008, No. 25 Health Insurance Act 1994 1994, No. 16 Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979 1979, No. 27 Investment Limited Partnerships Act 1994 1994, No. 24 Local Government Act 2001 2001, No. 37 National Asset Management Agency Act 2009 2009, No. 34 Pensions Act 1990 1990, No. 25 Personal Insolvency Act 2012 2012, No. 44 Planning and Development Act 2000 2000, No. 30 Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2010 Post Office Savings Bank Act 1861 24 & 25 Vict., c. 14 Public Transport Regulations Act 2009 2009, No. 37 Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 2006, No. 28 Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 1999, No. 31 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 2005, No. 26 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 1997, No. 39 Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 2010, No. 31 Number 8 of 2013 FINANCE ACT 2013 AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMPOSITION, REPEAL, REMISSION, ALTERATION AND REGULATION OF TAXATION, OF STAMP DUTIES AND OF DUTIES RELATING TO EXCISE AND OTHERWISE TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION IN CONNECTION WITH FINANCE INCLUDING THE REGULATION OF CUSTOMS. [27th March, 2013] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART 1

Income Levy, Universal Social Charge, Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter 1

Interpretation Interpretation (Part 1).

1.— In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .

Chapter 2

Universal Social Charge Amendment of section 531AM (charge to universal social charge) of Principal Act.

2.— Section 531AM of the Principal Act is amended in the Table to subsection (1)— (a) in paragraph (a) by deleting “and” in subparagraph (III) and by substituting “Schedule 3, and” for “Schedule 3.” in subparagraph (IV), (b) in paragraph (a) by inserting the following after subparagraph (IV): “(V) any amount transferred by an administrator under section 782A(3).”, (c) in paragraph (b)(ii) by substituting “subparagraphs (I) to (V)” for “clauses (I) to (IV)”, (d) in paragraph (b) by substituting “enacted,” for “enacted, and” in subparagraph (I) and by substituting “(within the meaning of that section), and” for “(within the meaning of that section).” in clause (E) of subparagraph (II), and (e) in paragraph (b) by inserting the following after subparagraph (II): “(III) including a balancing charge in respect of any amount that would have been deducted by virtue of subparagraph (vii).”.

Amendment of section 531AN (rate of charge) of Principal Act.

3.— Section 531AN of the Principal Act is amended for the year of assessment 2013 and each subsequent year of assessment— (a) by substituting the following for subsection (1): “(1) For each tax year an individual shall be charged to universal social charge on his or her aggregate income for the tax year— (a) at the rate specified in column (2) of the Table to this section corresponding to the part of aggregate income specified in column (1) of that Table where the individual is— (i) aged under 70 years, or (ii) aged 70 years or over at any time during the tax year and has aggregate income that exceeds €60,000, or (b) at the rate specified in column (3) of the Table to this section corresponding to the part of aggregate income specified in column (1) of that Table where the individual is aged 70 years or over at any time during the tax year and has aggregate income that does not exceed €60,000.”, (b) by substituting the following for subsection (2): “(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) and the Table to this section, where an individual has relevant income that exceeds €100,000, the individual shall, instead of being charged to universal social charge on the amount of the excess at the rate provided for in column (2) of that Table, be charged on the amount of that excess at the rate of 10 per cent.”, (c) in subsection (3) by substituting “Notwithstanding subsection (1) and the Table to this section, where an individual is in receipt of aggregate income which does not exceed €60,000, is aged under 70 years” for “Notwithstanding subsection (1) and the Table to this section, for the tax year 2011 and for each subsequent tax year where an individual is aged under 70 years”, and (d) by substituting the following for the Table to that section: “TABLE Part of aggregate income Rate of universal social charge Rate of universal social charge

(1)

(2)

Amendment of section 531AAA (application of provisions relating to income tax) of Principal Act.

4.— Section 531AAA of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in paragraph (a) by substituting “Chapter 3 of that Part, in relation to the obligation to keep records, and Chapter 4” for “and Chapter 4”, (b) in paragraph (b) by substituting “income tax and the right of a Revenue officer to make enquiries” for “income tax”, and (c) in paragraph (d) by substituting “Chapters 1 and 4” for “Chapter 1”.

Chapter 3

Income Tax Amendment of section 472D (relief for key employees engaged in research and development activities) of Principal Act.

5.— Section 472D of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “key employee”, by substituting “50 per cent” for “75 per cent” in each place, and (b) in subsection (8) by substituting “subsection (7)” for “subsection (6)”.

Amendment of section 71 (foreign securities and possessions) of Principal Act.

6.— Section 71 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (3A): “(3B) (a) This subsection shall apply where a person referred to in subsection (2) applies, outside the State, any income arising from securities or possessions in any place outside the State, in the making of a loan, or the transfer of money to that person’s spouse or civil partner, or in the acquisition of any property which is subsequently transferred to that person’s spouse or civil partner. (b) Where this subsection applies, any sums received in the State on or after 13 February 2013 from— (i) remittances payable in the State, (ii) property imported, (iii) money or value arising from property not imported, or (iv) money or value so received on credit or on account in respect of such remittances, property, money or value, which derive from the loan, or transfer of money or property referred to in paragraph (a), shall be treated, for the purpose of subsection (3), as if the sums received in the State had been brought into the State by the person referred to in subsection (2).”.

Amendment of sections 88A (double deduction in respect of certain emoluments) and 472A (relief for the long-term unemployed) of Principal Act.

7.— (1) Section 88A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(3) This section shall cease to have effect in respect of all claims relating to— (a) emoluments payable in respect of an employment commencing on or after such day as the Minister for Finance may by order appoint, and (b) the employer’s contribution to the Social Insurance Fund payable, in respect of those emoluments, under the Social Welfare Acts.”.

Amendment of section 126 (tax treatment of certain benefits payable under Social Welfare Acts) of Principal Act.

8.— Section 126 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(2A) (a) This subsection shall apply to the following benefits payable on or after 1 July 2013 under the Acts— (i) maternity benefit, (ii) adoptive benefit, and (iii) health and safety benefit. (b) Amounts to be paid on foot of the benefits to which this subsection applies shall be deemed— (i) to be profits or gains arising or accruing from an employment (and accordingly tax under Schedule E shall be charged on every person to whom any such benefit is payable in respect of amounts to be paid on foot of such benefits, and tax so chargeable shall be computed under section 112(1)), and (ii) to be emoluments to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 applies.”, and (b) in subsection (7) by substituting “to which subsections (2A) and (3) apply” for “to which subsection (3) applies” in each place.

Amendment of section 244 (relief for interest paid on certain home loans) of Principal Act.

9.— Section 244 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (6): “(7) This subsection shall apply to a loan taken out and used by an individual— (a) on or after 1 January 2012 and on or before 31 December 2012 solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase of an estate or interest in the land referred to in paragraph (b) and in respect of which the permission in subsection (10) applies but only where a residential premises, which is a qualifying residence in relation to that individual, is constructed on that land, or (b) on or after 1 January 2012 and on or before 31 December 2013 solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the construction of a residential premises which is a qualifying residence in relation to that individual on land— (i) in respect of which he or she has, on or after 1 January 2012 and on or before 31 December 2012, acquired an estate or interest, and (ii) the acquisition of which was financed by way of the loan referred to in paragraph (a).

Amendment of section 823A (deduction for income earned in certain foreign states) of Principal Act.

10.— Section 823A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant state”: “ ‘relevant state’ means the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China or the Republic of South Africa, and, as regards the years of assessment 2013 and 2014, shall include the Arab Republic of Egypt, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Senegal, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Kenya, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Ghana or the Democratic Republic of the Congo;”.

Amendment of section 473A (relief for fees paid for third level education, etc.) of Principal Act.

11.— Section 473A of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (4A): “(4A) In any claim or claims for relief under this section made by an individual in respect of qualifying fees— (a) where the qualifying fees, or part of the qualifying fees, the subject of the claim or claims concerned relate to a full-time course or full-time courses— (i) for the year of assessment 2013 there shall be disregarded the first €2,500 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser, (ii) for the year of assessment 2014 there shall be disregarded the first €2,750 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser, and (iii) for the year of assessment 2015 and each subsequent year of assessment there shall be disregarded the first €3,000 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser, (b) where all the qualifying fees the subject of the claim or claims concerned relate only to a part-time course or part-time courses— (i) for the year of assessment 2013 there shall be disregarded the first €1,250 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser, (ii) for the year of assessment 2014 there shall be disregarded the first €1,375 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser, and (iii) for the year of assessment 2015 and each subsequent year of assessment there shall be disregarded the first €1,500 or the full amount of those fees, whichever is the lesser.”.

Tax treatment of loans from employee benefit schemes.

12.— The Principal Act is amended in Chapter 2 of Part 33 by inserting the following after section 811A: “811B.— (1) In this section— ‘benefit scheme’, subject to subsection (2)(c), means a trust, scheme or other arrangement and includes any settlement, disposition, covenant, agreement, transfer of money or transfer of other property or of any right to money or of any right to other property; ‘employee’ includes an office holder and any person who is an employee within the definition of ‘employee’ in section 983; ‘employer’ includes any person connected with an employer and any person who is an employer within the definition of ‘employer’ in section 983 or connected with such employer; ‘loan’ means any loan, advance or any form of credit; ‘specified rate’ means the rate specified in paragraph (iii) of the definition of ‘the specified rate’ in section 122.

Benefit in kind: miscellaneous amendments.

13.— The Principal Act is amended, as respects the year of assessment 2013 and subsequent years of assessment— (a) in section 116(1) by inserting the following definition— “ ‘employee’ includes the holder of an office;”, (b) in section 118(5A)(a) by inserting the following after “approved transport providers”: “and which must be for a service for which the approved transport provider is contracted or licensed”, (c) in section 118(5A) by substituting the following for paragraph (b): “(b) In this subsection ‘approved transport provider’ means— (i) a public transport operator within the meaning of section 2 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 , (ii) the holder of a licence in respect of a public bus passenger service under Part 2 of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 , or (iii) a person who provides a ferry service within the State, operating a vessel which holds a current valid— (I) passenger ship safety certificate, (II) passenger boat licence, or (III) high-speed craft safety certificate, issued by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.”, (d) in section 118B(2)(b) by substituting “the payment of emoluments by an employer” for “an emolument of the individual”, (e) in section 118B(3) by substituting “the payment of emoluments by an employer” for “an emolument of the individual”, (f) in section 118B(4) by substituting “the payment of emoluments by an employer” for “an emolument of the individual”, (g) in section 118B(5) by substituting “the payment of emoluments by an employer” for “an emolument of the individual”, (h) in section 120(1) by inserting “, public bodies” after “unincorporated societies”, (i) in section 120 by inserting the following after subsection (3): “(4) (a) This subsection applies where an expense, which if it had been incurred by a body corporate would be an expense of the kind mentioned in subsection 118(1)(a), is incurred by a public body in relation to a person who holds an office or exercises an employment in that or in another public body. (b) Where this subsection applies the expense shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as if it had been incurred by the public body in which the office is held or the employment is exercised and as if that public body was a body corporate.

Ex gratia payments: miscellaneous amendments.

14.— (1) The Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 201 by substituting the following for subsection (2): “(2) (a) Income tax shall not be charged by virtue of section 123 in respect of the following payments: (i) an amount not exceeding €200,000 of any payment made— (I) in connection with the termination of the holding of an office or employment by the death of the holder, or (II) on account of injury to or disability of the holder of an office or employment; (ii) any sum chargeable to tax under section 127; (iii) a benefit provided pursuant to any retirement benefits scheme where, under section 777, the employee (within the meaning of that section) was chargeable to tax in respect of sums paid, or treated as paid, with a view to the provision of the benefit; (iv) a benefit paid in pursuance of any scheme or fund described in section 778(1). (b) Where paragraph (a)(i) applies to any payment, or any part of a payment— (i) the exemptions from income tax provided by virtue of any other provision of this section (other than subsection (1A)) and Schedule 3, or (ii) any deduction in computing the charge to income tax under paragraph 6 of Schedule 3, shall not apply to the excess of any such payment. (c) (i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) the amount of €200,000 referred to in that subparagraph shall be reduced by an amount equal to the aggregate amount of all payments, exempted from income tax by virtue of that subparagraph, which were paid before or at the same time as the making of the payment to which that subparagraph refers. (ii) Where two or more payments to which subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) applies are made to or in respect of the same person in respect of the same office or employment, or in respect of different offices or employments, for the purposes of that subparagraph this subparagraph shall apply as if those payments were a single payment of the aggregate amount of all such payments, and the provisions of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) shall apply to that single payment accordingly.”, (b) in section 201(2A) by inserting “, or any part of a payment,” after “Where a payment”, (c) in section 201(2A)(d) by inserting “, or part of the payment,” after “the payment”, (d) in section 201 by inserting the following after subsection (4): “(4A) Subsection (4) ceases to have effect for payments made on or after the date of the passing of this Act.”, (e) in Schedule 3 by inserting the following in Part 2 after paragraph 9: “9A. Paragraph 9 ceases to have effect for payments made on or after the date of the passing of this Act.”,

and (f) in Schedule 3 by inserting the following in Part 3 after paragraph 12: “13. (a) Notwithstanding section 201, paragraph 10 shall cease to apply to any payment of €200,000 or more which is made on or after 1 January 2013 and which is chargeable to income tax under section 123. (b) Paragraphs 11 and 12 shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph.”.

Amendment of section 470 (relief for insurance against expenses of illness) of Principal Act.

15.— As respects the year of assessment 2013 and subsequent years of assessment section 470 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1), in the definition of “relievable amount”, by inserting “and credit due (if any) under a risk equalisation scheme (within the meaning of the Health Insurance Act 1994 )” after “section 470B(4)” in each place.

Amendment of section 70 (Case III: basis of assessment) of Principal Act.

16.— Section 70 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (1): “(1A) (a) In this subsection ‘excluded amount’ means the amount of the deficiency where— (i) the computation of income arising in respect of a possession outside the State gives rise to a deficiency, and (ii) income arising in respect of that possession would be chargeable under Case V of Schedule D if the possession was in the State. (b) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed as meaning that an excluded amount can be taken into account in computing the income or profits chargeable under Case III of Schedule D.”.

Retirement benefits.

17.— (1) Chapter 1 of Part 30 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 770(3) by substituting “Schedules 23 and 23C” for “Schedule 23”, (b) in section 772 by inserting the following after subsection (3H): “(3I) A retirement benefits scheme shall not cease to be an approved scheme where the trustees of the scheme, notwithstanding anything contained in the rules of the scheme as approved, allow a member or, as the case may be, where the scheme is subject to a pension adjustment order, the spouse or former spouse or civil partner or former civil partner of the member, to avail of an option in accordance with section 782A.”, and (c) by inserting the following section after section 782: “Pre-retirement access to AVCs.

782A.— (1) (a) In this section— ‘accumulated value’, in relation to relevant AVC contributions, means— (i) where the contributions are contributions of a kind referred to in paragraph (i) of the definition of ‘relevant AVC contributions’, the amount which the administrator determines to be equal to the realisable value of the portion of the resources of the scheme that, in accordance with the rules of the scheme, represents those contributions, less the amount of so much of the expenses of the scheme as, under the rules of the scheme, are to be discharged out of that portion, and (ii) where the contributions are contributions of a kind referred to in paragraph (ii) of the definition of ‘relevant AVC contributions’, the amount which the PRSA administrator determines to be equal to the realisable value of the resources of the PRSA contract that, in accordance with the terms of the contract, represents those contributions, less the amount of the expenses of the contract as, under the terms of the contract, are to be discharged out of the realisable value; ‘administrator’, in relation to an AVC fund, means the person or persons having the management of the scheme to which the relevant AVC contributions comprising the AVC fund have been made or, as the case may be, the PRSA administrator; ‘AVC fund’ means the accumulated value of relevant AVC contributions made by a member, other than the accumulated value of relevant AVC contributions of a kind referred to in paragraph (ii) of the definition of that term where benefits have become payable to the member under the main scheme; ‘designated benefit’ and ‘pension adjustment order’ have the meanings assigned to them in section 787O(5)(a); ‘member’, in relation to a scheme, means any person who, having been admitted to membership under the rules of the scheme, remains entitled to any benefit under the scheme; ‘PRSA administrator’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 787A(1); ‘relevant AVC contributions’ means— (i) additional voluntary contributions within the meaning of section 770(1), and (ii) additional voluntary PRSA contributions within the meaning of section 787A(1), made for the purpose of providing relevant benefits on retirement and include such additional voluntary contributions representing a transfer of additional voluntary contributions from a retirement benefits scheme or a PRSA, as the case may be, but shall not include such additional voluntary contributions made under a purchase of notional service scheme; ‘relevant individual’ means a member of a scheme who has an AVC fund and, as the case may be, where the AVC fund is subject to a pension adjustment order includes the spouse or former spouse or civil partner or former civil partner of the member;

‘scheme’ means an approved scheme or a statutory scheme; ‘specified period’ means the period of 3 years from the date of passing of the Finance Act 2013. (b) For the purposes of this section, where an AVC fund is subject to a pension adjustment order, each relevant individual shall be deemed to have a separate AVC fund the value of which shall be determined as if the designated benefit pursuant to the order was payable at the time of the transfer provided for in subsection (3). (c) For the purposes of this section, relevant AVC contributions shall not include— (i) any sum paid by means of contribution, howsoever described, at any time by an employer (within the meaning of section 787A) to a scheme or to a PRSA, (ii) contributions (which are not voluntary contributions) made at any time by a member to a scheme at the rate or rates specified for member’s contributions in the rules of the scheme or otherwise, or (iii) contributions (which are not additional voluntary contributions of a kind referred to in subparagraph (ii) of the definition of ‘relevant AVC contributions’) made at any time by a member to a PRSA.

or (ii) has specified income of less than €12,700 on the date of passing of this Act in circumstances where the relevant amount is greater than €63,500— (I) the approved minimum retirement fund shall, to the extent of the excess of the relevant amount over €63,500, thereupon become an approved retirement fund (in respect of which section 784A and subsections (1) and (5) of section 784B of the Principal Act shall accordingly apply), or (II) the ring-fenced amount or, as the case may be, so much of each ring-fenced amount determined in accordance with paragraph (c) shall, to the extent of the excess of the relevant amount over €63,500 thereupon become a non ring-fenced amount. (c) For the purposes of giving effect to paragraph (b)(ii)(II), where more than one vested PRSA has a ring-fenced amount the individual shall determine how much of each ring-fenced amount shall become a non ring-fenced amount.

Provisions relating to loss relief.

18.— (1) The Principal Act is amended— (a) in Chapter 6 of Part 4 by inserting the following after section 87: “Release of debts in certain trades.

87B.— (1) In this section— ‘specified debt’ means any debt incurred by an individual in respect of borrowed money employed in the purchase or development of land held as trading stock (within the meaning of section 89) of a specified trade; ‘specified trade’ means a trade, or a business which is deemed to be a trade by virtue of section 640(2)(a), consisting of or including dealing in or developing land to which Chapter 1 of Part 22 applies; ‘tax year’ means a year of assessment.

381A.— (1) In this section— ‘aggregate income for the tax year’ has the same meaning as in section 531AL; ‘specified loss’, in relation to a tax year and a specified trade, means any loss sustained in the course of the specified trade, which is referable to a deduction allowed in computing the profits or gains of the trade, in respect of either or both— (a) interest on borrowed money employed in the purchase or development of land which is held as trading stock (within the meaning of section 89) of the trade, and (b) any reduction in the value of land held as trading stock (within the meaning of section 89) of the trade; ‘specified trade’ means a trade, or a business which is deemed to be a trade by virtue of section 640(2)(a), consisting of or including dealing in or developing land to which Chapter 1 of Part 22 applies; ‘specified trader’, in relation to a specified trade and a tax year, means an individual in respect of whom that part of the total of the individual’s aggregate income for the tax year and the 2 immediately preceding tax years deriving from the specified trade is less than 50 per cent of the total for those 3 tax years of the individual’s aggregate income for the tax year; ‘tax year’ means a year of assessment.

Chapter 4

Income Levy, Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax Donations to approved bodies.

19.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in section 848A— (a) in subsection (1)(a) by deleting the definition of “appropriate certificate”, (b) in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following definitions: “ ‘annual certificate’, in relation to a relevant donation to an approved body by a donor who is an individual, means a certificate which is in such form as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe and which contains— (i) statements to the effect that— (I) the donation satisfies the requirements of subsection (3), (II) the donor has paid or will pay to the Revenue Commissioners income tax of an amount equal to income tax at the specified rate for the relevant year of assessment on the grossed up amount of the donation, but not being— (A) income tax which the donor is entitled to charge against any other person or to deduct, retain or satisfy out of any payment which the donor is liable to make to any other person, or (B) appropriate tax within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 8, and (III) the donor acknowledges that the provisions of subsection (9B) apply to a repayment of tax to an approved body, and (ii) the personal public service number of the donor, and includes a certificate which has been renewed by the donor with the approved body in a manner approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the subsequent year of assessment; ‘enduring certificate’, in relation to a relevant donation to an approved body by a donor who is an individual, means a certificate which is in such form as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe and which contains— (i) the year of assessment from which the certificate applies, (ii) statements to the effect that the donor is aware that— (I) a donation made during the specified period (in this definition referred to as the ‘first specified period’) has to satisfy the requirements of subsection (3), (II) income tax of an amount equal to income tax at the specified rate for the relevant year of assessment on the grossed up amount of a donation has been or will be paid to the Revenue Commissioners, but not being— (A) income tax which the donor is entitled to charge against any other person or to deduct, retain or satisfy out of any payment which the donor is liable to make to any other person, or (B) appropriate tax within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 8, and (III) the donor acknowledges that the provisions of subsection (9B) apply to a repayment of tax to an approved body, and (iii) the personal public service number of the donor, and includes a certificate which has been renewed by the donor with the approved body in a manner approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the specified period immediately succeeding the first specified period;

‘personal public service number’ has the same meaning as in section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ; ‘specified period’, in relation to an enduring certificate, means the year of assessment from which the certificate applies and each of the 4 immediately succeeding years of assessment; ‘specified rate’ means 31 per cent;”, (c) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for paragraph (b): “(b) For the purposes of this section and in relation to a donation by a donor who is an individual, references to the grossed up amount are to the amount which after deducting income tax at the specified rate for the relevant year of assessment leaves the amount of the donation.”, (d) in subsection (1) by inserting the following after paragraph (b): “(ba) An annual certificate renewed by a donor in the manner referred to in the definition of ‘annual certificate’ shall be deemed to contain the statements referred to in paragraph (i) of that definition. (bb) An enduring certificate renewed by a donor in the manner referred to in the definition of ‘enduring certificate’ shall be deemed to contain the statements referred to in paragraph (ii) of that definition.”, (e) in subsection (2) by substituting “the provisions of subsection (4) or (9),” for “the provisions of subsection (4), subsection (7) or subsection (9),”, (f) in subsection (3)(e) by substituting the following for subparagraphs (ii) and (iii): “(ii) has given an annual certificate or, as the case may be, an enduring certificate in relation to the donation to the approved body, and (iii) has, for the relevant year of assessment, paid the tax referred to in such annual certificate or enduring certificate, as the case may be, and is not entitled to claim a repayment of that tax or any part of that tax.”, (g) in subsection (3A) by substituting the following for paragraph (a): “(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, where— (i) the aggregate of the amounts of all donations made by an individual in any year of assessment to an approved body or approved bodies is in excess of €1,000,000, or (ii) the aggregate of the amounts of all donations made by an individual in any year of assessment to an approved body or approved bodies with which the individual is associated is in excess of 10 per cent of the total income of the individual for that year of assessment, the amount of the excess in each case shall not be treated as a relevant donation for the purposes of this section.”, (h) in subsection (6)— (i) by deleting “or in a year of assessment”, and

(ii) by substituting “amount” for “amounts”, (i) by deleting subsections (7) and (8), (j) by substituting the following for subsection (9): “(9) Where a donation is a relevant donation made to an approved body by a donor who is an individual, the Tax Acts shall apply in relation to the approved body as if— (a) the grossed up amount of the donation were an annual payment which was the income of the approved body received by it under deduction of tax in the amount and at the specified rate of tax for the relevant year of assessment, and (b) the provisions of those Acts which apply in relation to a claim to repayment of tax applied in relation to any claim to repayment of such tax by an approved body; but, if the total amount of the tax referred to in paragraph (i) of the definition of ‘annual certificate’ or paragraph (ii) of the definition of ‘enduring certificate’, as the case may be, is not paid, the amount of any repayment which would otherwise be made to an approved body in accordance with this section shall not exceed the amount of tax actually paid by the donor.”, (k) by inserting the following after subsection (9A): “(9B) Where a repayment of tax has been made to an approved body in accordance with this section, the amount of tax so repaid shall not be regarded as tax paid by the donor for the purposes of a repayment of tax to that donor under section 865 or any other provision of the Income Tax Acts.”, (l) in subsection (10) by substituting “annual certificate or enduring certificate, as the case may be,” for “appropriate certificate”, and (m) in subsection (11) by substituting “annual certificate or enduring certificate, as the case may be,” for “appropriate certificate”.

Farm taxation.

20.— (1) Chapter 2 of Part 23 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 666(4)— (i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “31 December 2015” for “31 December 2012”, and (ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “year 2015” for “year 2012”, (b) in section 667B by substituting the following for subsection (1): “(1) In this section ‘qualifying farmer’ means an individual— (a) (i) who in the year of assessment 2007 or any subsequent year of assessment first qualifies for grant aid under the scheme of Installation Aid for Young Farmers operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 797/85 of 12 March 1985 1 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time, or (ii) who— (I) first becomes chargeable to income tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains from the trade of farming for the year of assessment 2007 or any subsequent year of assessment, (II) has not attained the age of 35 years at the commencement of the year of assessment referred to in clause (I), and (III) at any time in the year of assessment so referred to satisfies the conditions set out in subsection (2) or (3), and (b) who, where the requirements of subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a) are first satisfied in the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first year of assessment’), submits a business plan to— (i) Teagasc, for the purpose of this section, or (ii) Teagasc or the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for any other purpose, on or before 31 October in the year following the first year of assessment.”, (c) in section 667B(5)(b) by substituting “31 December 2015” for “31 December 2012”, (d) in section 667B by inserting the following after subsection (5): “(5A) (a) In this subsection— ‘qualifying period’, in relation to a qualifying farmer, means the year of assessment in which an individual becomes a qualifying farmer and each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment; ‘relevant tax’ means any income tax or universal social charge; ‘relief’ means an amount equivalent to an amount determined by the formula— A — B where— A is the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by a qualifying farmer for a year of assessment falling within the qualifying period computed as if subsection (5) had not been enacted, and B is the amount of relevant tax payable by the qualifying farmer for that year of assessment. (b) Where a qualifying period commences in the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment, the qualifying farmer shall be entitled to relief in respect of deductions under section 666(1), by virtue of subsection (5), of an amount not exceeding—

(i) in the aggregate in the qualifying period, €70,000, and (ii) in any one year of assessment falling within the qualifying period, €40,000.”, (e) in section 667B(6) by substituting “in paragraph (a)(ii)(III) of the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in subsection (1)” for “in paragraph (b)(iii) of the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in subsection (1)”, (f) in section 667B by inserting the following after subsection (6): “(7) This section shall apply to a qualifying farmer who comes within the definition of ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ in Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 2 , and in respect of whom subsection (5) applies for the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment.”, (g) in section 667C(1) by substituting the following for the definition of ‘registered farm partnership’: “ ‘registered farm partnership’ means— (a) a milk production partnership within the meaning of the European Communities (Milk Quota) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 227 of 2008 ), and (b) a farm partnership included on a register of farm partnerships established by regulations made under subsection (4A).”, and (h) in section 667C by inserting the following after subsection (4): “(4A) (a) The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Minister’), after consultation with and with the approval of the Minister for Finance, may by regulations establish and maintain a register of farm partnerships (in this subsection referred to as the ‘register’) and those regulations may provide for— (i) the form and manner of registration of a farm partnership on the register, (ii) the conditions with which a farm partnership shall comply, (iii) the minimum and maximum number of persons who may participate in a farm partnership, (iv) the assignment of a unique identifier to a farm partnership included on the register, (v) procedures for addressing non-compliance with the conditions referred to in subparagraph (ii), and (vi) such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Minister to be necessary and appropriate. (b) Every regulation made under this subsection shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.”.

Amendment of section 481 (relief for investment in films) of Principal Act.

21.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in section 481— (a) in subsection (1) by deleting the definition of “allowable investor company”, (b) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “film”: “ ‘film’ means— (a) a film of a kind which is included within the categories of films eligible for certification by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (2A), as specified in regulations made under subsection (2E), and (b) as respects every film, a film which is produced— (i) on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profit, and (ii) wholly or mainly for exhibition to the public in cinemas or by means of broadcast, but does not include a film made for exhibition as an advertising programme or as a commercial;”, (c) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “the Minister”: “ ‘the Minister’ means the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht;”, (d) in subsection (1) by deleting the definition of “qualifying individual”, (e) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “qualifying period”: “ ‘qualifying period’, in relation to a film corporation tax credit specified in a film certificate, means— (a) the accounting period of the producer company, in respect of which the specified return date for the chargeable period, within the meaning of section 959A, immediately precedes the date the application referred to in subsection (2A)(a) was made, or (b) where the accounting period referred to in paragraph (a) is a period of less than 12 months, the period— (i) commencing on the date on which the most recently commenced accounting period, which commences on or before the date which is 12 months before the end of the accounting period referred to in paragraph (a) commences, and (ii) ending on the date the accounting period referred to in paragraph (a) ends, and references in subsection (3) to corporation tax and corporation tax paid shall be construed accordingly;”, (f) in subsection (1) by deleting the definition of “relevant deduction”, (g) in subsection (1) by deleting the definition of “relevant investment”, (h) in subsection (1) by deleting the definition of “specified relevant person”, (i) in subsection (1) by inserting the following definitions: “ ‘broadcast’ and ‘broadcaster’ have the meanings assigned to them by section 2 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 ; ‘film corporation tax credit’, in relation to a qualifying film, means an amount equal to 32 per cent of the lowest of— (a) the eligible expenditure amount,

(b) 80 per cent of the total cost of production of the film, and (c) €50,000,000; ‘producer company’, in relation to a film corporation tax credit specified in a film certificate, means a company that— (a) is resident in the State, or is resident in an EEA State other than the State and carries on business in the State through a branch or agency, (b) commencing not later than the time the qualifying period commences, carries on a trade of producing films— (i) on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profit, and (ii) that are wholly or principally for exhibition to the public in cinemas or by means of broadcast, (c) is not a company, or a company connected to a company— (i) that is a broadcaster, or (ii) in the case of— (I) a company, whose business consists wholly or mainly, or (II) a company connected to another company, where the aggregate of the activities carried on by the company and every company to which it is connected, consists wholly or mainly, of transmitting films on the internet, (d) holds all of the shares in the qualifying company, and (e) has delivered to the Collector-General, on or before the specified return date, a return, in accordance with section 959I, in respect of— (i) the accounting period referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘qualifying period’, or (ii) each accounting period ending in the qualifying period, referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition, as the case may be; ‘specified amount’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (3)(b); ‘specified relevant person’ means a person who is a director or secretary of the producer company at any time during the period commencing when the qualifying period commences and ending 12 months after the date the compliance report referred to in subparagraph (iii) of subsection (2C)(d)(iii) is provided to the Revenue Commissioners;”, (j) in subsection (2)— (i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place, and (ii) by deleting paragraph (c), (k) in subsection (2A) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place in paragraph (a), (l) in subsection (2A) by substituting the following for paragraph (b): “(b) The Revenue Commissioners shall not issue a certificate under paragraph (a) if— (i) they have not been given authorisation to do so by the Minister under subsection (2)(a), (ii) the producer company, the qualifying company and each person who is either the beneficial owner of, or able directly or indirectly to control, more than 15 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the producer company or the qualifying company, as the case may be, is not in compliance with all the obligations imposed by the Tax Acts, the Capital Gains Tax Acts or the

Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 in relation to— (I) the payments or remittances of taxes, interest or penalties required to be paid or remitted under those Acts, (II) the delivery of returns, and (III) requests to supply to an inspector accounts of, or other information about, any business carried on, by the producer company, the qualifying company or person, as the case may be, or (iii) the eligible expenditure amount is less than €200,000.”, (m) in subsection (2A) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place in paragraphs (c), (e) and (f), (n) in subsection (2A)(g) by substituting the following for subparagraph (i): “(i) in relation to the quantum of the specified amount, and the timing and manner of a payment of the specified amount,”, (o) in subsection (2A)(g) by substituting the following for subparagraph (iii): “(iii) in relation to the amount of the film corporation tax credit by which the producer company’s corporation tax is to be reduced,”, (p) in subsection (2A)(g) by inserting “(in this section referred to as the eligible expenditure amount)” after “film” where it first occurs in subparagraph (iv), (q) in subsection (2A) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place in paragraph (h), (r) in subsection (2B) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place, (s) in subsection (2C) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place (other than in paragraphs (b) and (c)), (t) in subsection (2C)(b) by inserting “or the qualifying company” after “company”, (u) in subsection (2C)(c)— (i) by inserting “the producer company,” before “the qualifying company” where it first occurs, (ii) by inserting “the producer company or” before “the qualifying company” where it last occurs, and (iii) by substituting “producer company or the qualifying company” for “company” in subparagraph (i), (v) in subsection (2C) by deleting “and” before paragraph (e), (w) in subsection (2C) by substituting the following for paragraph (e): “(e) if the company ceases to carry on the trade referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘producer company’, before a time which is 12 months after the date the compliance report referred to in subsection (2C)(d)(iii) is provided to the Revenue Commissioners,”, (x) in subsection (2C) by inserting the following after paragraph (e): “(f) if the company disposes of its shares in the qualifying company before a time which is 12 months after the date the compliance report referred to in subsection (2C)(d)(iii) is provided to the Revenue Commissioners,

(g) unless the company— (i) enters into a contract with the qualifying company in relation to the production and distribution of the qualifying film, and (ii) provides an amount not less than the specified amount to the qualifying company, and (h) unless an amount not less than the eligible expenditure amount is expended by the qualifying company wholly and exclusively on the production of the qualifying film as specified in a condition in a film certificate, in accordance with subsection (2A)(g)(iv).”, (y) in subsection (2CA)(b) by substituting the following for subparagraph (i): “(i) the arrangements relate to the filming of part of a film in a territory other than a territory referred to in clause (I) or (II) of subsection (2C)(b)(i),”, (z) in subsection (2CA)(b) by substituting “the producer company” for “the qualifying company” in subparagraph (ii), (aa) in subsection (2CA)(b) by substituting the following for subparagraph (iii): “(iii) the producer company demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that it can provide, if requested, sufficient records to enable the Revenue Commissioners to verify, in the case of filming in a territory, the amount of each item of expenditure on the production of the qualifying film expended in the territory, whether expended by the producer company or by any other person,”, (ab) by substituting the following for subsection (2D): “(2D) Where the producer company or the qualifying company fails to comply with any of the provisions of this section or fails to fulfil any condition specified in a certificate issued to the producer company under paragraph (a) of subsection (2A), the Revenue Commissioners may, by notice in writing, revoke the certificate.”, (ac) in subsection (2E)— (i) by substituting “a producer company and a qualifying company” for “a qualifying company” in paragraph (d), (ii) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company” in each place in paragraphs (f) and (l), (iii) by deleting “and” in paragraph (m), and (iv) by substituting “film, and” for “film.” in paragraph (n), (ad) in subsection (2E) by inserting the following after paragraph (n): “(o) governing when the specified amount may be paid by the Revenue Commissioners to the producer company.”, (ae) in subsection (2F) by substituting “producer company” for “qualifying company”, (af) by substituting the following for subsection (3): “(3) (a) Where the Revenue Commissioners have— (i) issued a film certificate to a producer company, in accordance with subsection (2A)(a), and

(ii) specified an amount of a film corporation tax credit in the certificate, the corporation tax of the company for the qualifying period, shall, subject to subsection (2A)(g)(iii), be reduced by so much of an amount equal to the film corporation tax credit specified in the film certificate as does not exceed that corporation tax and where the qualifying period is a period referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘qualifying period’, the corporation tax of an earlier accounting period shall be reduced in priority to the corporation tax of a later accounting period. (b) Subject to subsection (3C), where the Revenue Commissioners have specified a film corporation tax credit in a film certificate and the amount of the credit exceeds the corporation tax of the qualifying period, as reduced by the corporation tax paid by the company in respect of that period but before any reduction under paragraph (a), the excess (in this section referred to as the ‘specified amount’) shall be paid to the producer company by the Revenue Commissioners. (c) The specified amount shall be paid by the Revenue Commissioners to the film producer company not later than the date specified in the film certificate issued to the company, which shall not be earlier than the date set out in the regulations made under subsection (2E).”, (ag) by inserting the following after subsection (3): “(3A) (a) Any amount payable by the Revenue Commissioners to the company by virtue of subsection (3)(b) shall be deemed to be an overpayment of corporation tax, for the purposes only of section 960H(2). (b) Any claim in respect of a specified amount shall be deemed for the purposes of section 1077E to be a claim in connection with a credit and, for the purposes of determining an amount in accordance with section 1077E(11) or 1077E(12), a reference to an amount of tax that would have been payable for the relevant periods by the person concerned shall be read as if it were a reference to a specified amount. (c) Where the Revenue Commissioners have paid a specified amount to a producer company and it is subsequently found that all or part of the amount is not as authorised by this section (in this section referred to as the ‘unauthorised amount’), then— (i) the company, (ii) any director of the company, or (iii) any person referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2A), may be charged to tax under Case IV of Schedule D for the accounting period, or year of assessment, as the case may be, in respect of which the payment was made, in an amount equal to—

(I) in the case of a company, 4 times, and (II) in the case of an individual, one hundred forty-firsts, of so much of the specified amount as is not so authorised. (d) The circumstances in which an unauthorised amount arises shall include any circumstances where the amount was paid in accordance with paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and— (i) the Revenue Commissioners revoke a certificate issued under subsection (2A)(a), or (ii) the producer company or the qualifying company— (I) fails to satisfy or comply with any condition or obligation required by this section or regulations made under this section, (II) fails to satisfy or comply with any condition or obligation specified in a film certificate, including a condition to complete, deliver, exhibit or make available for exhibition the qualifying film by a time specified in a film certificate, or (III) at any time on or before the time referred to in subsection (2C)(e) fails to comply with any of the obligations referred to in subsection (2A)(b)(ii). (e) Where in accordance with paragraph (c) an inspector makes an assessment in respect of a specified amount, the amount so charged shall for the purposes of section 1080 be deemed to be tax due and payable and shall carry interest as determined in accordance with subsection (2)(c) of section 1080 as if a reference to the date when the tax became due and payable were a reference to the date the amount was paid by the Revenue Commissioners. (3B) (a) The amount which is provided by the producer company to the qualifying company in accordance with subparagraph (ii) of subsection (2C)(g) shall not— (i) be a sum which may be deducted in computing the profits or gains to be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D and shall not otherwise reduce the income of the producer company, (ii) subject to subsection (3), reduce the corporation tax of the producer company, (iii) be provided in a manner which is wholly or partly for the purpose of, or in connection with, securing a tax advantage, or (iv) be income of the qualifying company for any tax purpose. (b) A failure by the qualifying company to repay any part of the amount referred to in paragraph (a) to the producer company shall not be a sum which may be deducted in computing the profits or gains of the producer company to be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D and shall not otherwise reduce the income of the producer company. (c) Notwithstanding sections 411 and 616, the producer and the qualifying company shall be deemed not to be members of the same group of companies for the purposes of—

(i) section 411, or (ii) except for the purposes of section 626, section 616. (d) A loss, for the purposes of section 546, shall not be treated as arising on the disposal by the producer company of shares in the qualifying company. (e) Section 626B shall be deemed not to apply to the disposal by the producer company of shares in the qualifying company. (f) For the purposes of section 538(2), the value of the shares held by the producer company in the qualifying company, shall not, at any time, be negligible. (3C) The Revenue Commissioners shall not pay a specified amount to a producer company in respect of a film certificate issued after 31 December 2020.”, and (ah) by deleting subsections (4) to (22).

Amendment of Part 16 (income tax relief for investment in corporate trades — employment and investment incentive and seed capital scheme) of Principal Act.

22.— (1) Part 16 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 488(1)— (i) in paragraph (g) of the definition of “relevant trading activities” by inserting “except where the operating or managing of such hotels, guest houses, self catering accommodation or comparable establishments, or the managing of property used as a hotel, guest house, self catering accommodation or comparable establishment, is a tourist traffic undertaking,” after “establishment,”, and (ii) in paragraph (a) of the definition of “tourist traffic undertaking” by deleting “other than hotels, guest houses and self catering accommodation,”, (b) in section 489(13) by substituting “31 December 2020” for “31 December 2013”, and (c) in section 490(3)(b) by substituting “2020” for “2013”.

Amendment of Part 8 (annual payments, charges and interest) of Principal Act.

23.— (1) Part 8 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 256(1) in the definition of “appropriate tax”— (i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “33 per cent” for “30 per cent”, (ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “33 per cent” for “30 per cent”, and (iii) in paragraph (c) by substituting “36 per cent” for “33 per cent”, and (b) in section 267B— (i) in subsection (2)(b) by substituting “33 per cent” for “30 per cent”, and (ii) in subsection (3)(b) by substituting “33 per cent” for “30 per cent”.

Amendment of section 267N (interpretation) of Principal Act.

24.— (1) Section 267N(1) of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by substituting the following for paragraph (c) of the definition of “investment certificate”— “(c) is issued to a person who is not a specified person, and”, and (b) by inserting the following definition— “ ‘specified person’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 110 as if a reference in the definition of ‘specified person’ in that section— (a) to a qualifying company included a reference to a qualifying company within the meaning of this section, and (b) to qualifying assets were a reference to assets within the meaning of this section;”.

Amendment of section 1003A (payment of tax by means of donation of heritage property to an Irish heritage trust) of Principal Act.

25.— (1) Section 1003A of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1) in the definition of “Minister” by substituting “Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht” for “Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government”, (b) in paragraph (a) of subsection (2)— (i) by substituting “Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.” for “Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland,” in subparagraph (iv), and (ii) by deleting all words from and including “and, for the purposes of this section” to the end of that paragraph, (c) in subsection (2) by inserting the following after paragraph (a): “(aa) For the purposes of this section— (i) a reference to ‘building’ includes— (I) any associated outbuilding, yard or land where the land is occupied or enjoyed with the building as part of its gardens or designed landscape and contributes to the appreciation of the building in its setting, (II) the contents of the building, and (III) land necessary for the provision of access to the building or for the provision of parking facilities for visitors to the building, (ii) a reference to ‘garden’ includes— (I) any associated building, outbuilding, yard or land where the land is occupied or enjoyed with the garden and contributes to the appreciation of the garden in its setting, and (II) land necessary for the provision of access to the garden or for the provision of parking facilities for visitors to the garden. (ab) Where a heritage property is donated under this section and the Trust or, as appropriate, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland deem that lands outside of the ownership of the donor of the heritage property would be necessary for the provision of access to the heritage property or for the provision of parking facilities for visitors to the heritage property, such lands may be donated for such purpose to the Trust or, as appropriate, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland under the terms of this section and those lands shall be deemed to be a heritage property for the purpose of this section.”. (d) in subsection (2) by substituting “Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform” for “Minister for Finance” in each place in paragraph (f), and (e) in subsection (5) by substituting “an amount equal to 50 per cent of the market value” for “an amount equal to 80 per cent of the market value”.

Amendment of Schedule 24 (relief from income tax and corporation tax by means of credit in respect of foreign tax) to Principal Act.

26.— (1) Schedule 24 to the Principal Act is amended— (a) in paragraph 1 by inserting the following definitions: “ ‘aggregate income for the tax year’ has the same meaning as in section 531AL; ‘aggregate of the tax value of the reduction’ means the income tax value of the amount by which all income for which credit is to be allowed for foreign tax is treated as reduced in accordance with subparagraph (3)(c) of paragraph 7 ascertained by subtracting the income tax that is chargeable in respect of the year of assessment from the income tax that would be chargeable if all income for which credit is to be allowed for foreign tax had not been reduced in accordance with subparagraph (3)(c) of paragraph 7;”, (b) in paragraph 2 by inserting the following after subparagraph (2): “(2A) In the case of any income within the charge to income tax, the credit shall be applied first in reducing the income tax chargeable in respect of that income.”, (c) by inserting the following after paragraph 5: “Limit on total credit — universal social charge.

5A. (1) The amount of the credit to be allowed against universal social charge for foreign tax in respect of any income— (a) shall not exceed the sum which would be produced by computing the amount of that income in accordance with Part 18D, and then charging it to universal social charge for the year of assessment for which the credit is to be allowed, but at a rate ascertained by dividing the universal social charge payable by that person for that year by the amount of the aggregate income for the tax year of that person, and (b) shall be determined (subject to clause (a)) by the formula— (FT — C) — TV where— FT is the foreign tax, including foreign tax not chargeable directly, in respect of the income, C is the credit allowed against income tax for foreign tax in respect of the income, and TV is the portion of the aggregate of the tax value of the reduction attributable to the income determined by the formula— A x B C where— A is the aggregate of the tax value of the reduction, B is the part of the foreign tax by which the income has been reduced in accordance with subparagraph (3)(c) of paragraph 7, and C is the aggregate of the reductions by which all income for which credit is to be allowed for foreign tax has been reduced in accordance with subparagraph (3)(c) of paragraph 7.

7A. (1) Where credit for foreign tax is to be allowed against any of the Irish taxes in respect of any income, this paragraph shall apply in relation to the computation for the purposes of universal social charge of the amount of that income.

9I. (1) In this paragraph— ‘excluded dividend’ means a dividend, or any part of a dividend, paid by a source company to a relevant company, in so far as it is paid out of so much, if any, of the relevant profits of a source company, as— (a) has not been subject to tax, and (b) has been received, from a company which is connected with the relevant company and is not resident in a relevant Member State— (i) directly by means of a dividend or other distribution of profits, being profits which have not been subject to tax, or (ii) indirectly, from the profits mentioned in subclause (i), by the payment of dividends, or the making of other distributions, by one or more companies, without the income or profits represented by any of those dividends or distributions having been subject to tax; ‘relevant company’, in relation to a dividend, means a company that— (a) is resident in the State, or (b) is, by virtue of the law of a relevant Member State other than the State, resident for the purposes of tax in such a Member State and the dividend forms part of the profits of a branch or agency in the State; ‘relevant dividend’ means so much of a dividend as is neither— (a) an excluded dividend, nor (b) a dividend which, by virtue of section 21B(4)(c), is not to be taken into account in computing income for corporation tax; ‘source company’ means a company which— (a) is not resident in the State, and (b) is, by virtue of the law of a relevant Member State other than the State, resident for the purposes of tax in such a Member State; ‘tax’, except in the case of corporation tax in the State, means— (a) tax imposed in a country other than the State, which corresponds to such corporation tax, and (b) tax, corresponding to income tax in the State, which is imposed in a country other than the State by deduction from dividends or other distributions of profits, but, for the purposes of the definition of ‘excluded dividend’ in this subparagraph, any tax charged by reference to a dividend or other distribution of profits such that most of the value of that dividend or distribution is exempted from that charge to tax shall be excluded from the meaning of ‘tax’.

Amendment of section 79C (exclusion of foreign currency as asset of certain companies) of Principal Act.

27.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in section 79C— (a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “relevant bank deposit”, by substituting “the currency of the State” for “Irish currency”, and (b) by substituting the following for subsection (3): “(3) An amount determined by the formula— A x C B where— A is the net foreign exchange gain which is credited in the profit and loss account of a relevant holding company, as reduced by so much of any loss under section 383 as is attributable to a net foreign exchange loss and which has not been deducted from any other amount of income, B is the rate referred to in section 21A(3)(a), and C is the rate referred to in section 28(3), shall be income chargeable under Case IV of Schedule D.”.

Amendment of section 766 (tax credit for research and development expenditure) of Principal Act.

28.— (1) Section 766 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(a), in the definition of “qualifying group expenditure on research and development”, by substituting “€200,000” for “€100,000”.

Amendment of section 246 (interest payments by companies and to non-residents) of Principal Act.

29.— (1) Section 246 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (3) by substituting the following for paragraph (c): “(c) interest paid to a person whose usual place of abode is outside the State— (i) in respect of a relevant security, or (ii) by a specified collective investment undertaking within the meaning of section 734,”, (b) in subsection (3) by inserting the following after paragraph (f): “(fa) interest paid in the State to an exempt approved scheme within the meaning of section 774,”, and (c) by deleting subsection (4).

Living City Initiative.

30.— (1) The Principal Act is amended— (a) in Part 10 by inserting the following after Chapter 12: “Chapter 13 Living City Initiative Interpretation (Chapter 13).

372AAA.— In this Chapter— ‘Georgian house’ means a building, constructed in the period 1714 to 1830 for use as a dwelling, comprising at least 2 stories, with or without a basement; ‘market value’, in relation to a building, structure or house, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the building, structure or house 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, structure or house, less 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, structure or house is constructed; ‘qualifying period’ means the period commencing on the date of the coming into operation of section 30 of the Finance Act 2013 and ending 5 years after that date; ‘refurbishment’, in relation to a building, structure or house, 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, structure or house; ‘special regeneration area’ means an area or areas specified as a special regeneration area by order of the Minister for Finance.

Residential accommodation: allowance to owner-occupiers in respect of qualifying expenditure incurred on the conversion and refurbishment of Georgian houses.

372AAB.— (1) In this section— ‘conversion’ in relation to a building, structure or house, means any work of— (a) conversion into a house of a building or part of a building where the building or, as the case may be, the part of the building has not, immediately prior to the conversion, been in use as a dwelling, and (b) conversion into 2 or more houses of a building or part of a building where before the conversion the building or, as the case may be, the part of the building has not, immediately prior to the conversion, been in use as a dwelling or had been in use as a single dwelling, including the carrying out of any necessary works of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal, and the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities in relation to the building or the part of the building, as the case may be; ‘house’ includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling and any out office, yard, garden or other land appurtenant to or usually enjoyed with that building or part of a building; ‘letter of certification’ means a letter from the relevant local authority stating that— (a) planning permission, in so far as it is required, in respect of the work carried out in the course of the refurbishment or conversion has been granted under the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2010, (b) the total floor area of the house is not less than 38 square metres and not more than 210 square metres, (c) the house to which the letter relates complies with such conditions, if any, as may be determined by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government from time to time for the purposes of section 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979 , in relation to standards for improvement of houses and the provision of water, sewerage and other services in houses, and (d) that at the time of issuing of the letter and on the basis of the information available at that time the cost of conversion into, or as the case may be, refurbishment of, the house appears to be reasonable; ‘qualifying expenditure’ means expenditure incurred by an individual, in the qualifying period, on the conversion into, or, as the case may be, the refurbishment of a qualifying premises, after deducting from that amount of expenditure any sum in respect of or by reference to— (a) that expenditure, (b) the qualifying premises, or (c) the conversion or, as the case may be, the refurbishment work in respect of which that expenditure was incurred;

which the individual has received or is entitled to receive, directly or indirectly, from the State, any board established by statute or any public or local authority; ‘qualifying premises’ means a Georgian house— (a) the site of which is wholly within a special regeneration area, (b) which is used solely as a dwelling, (c) in respect of which a letter of certification has issued, and (d) which is first used, after the qualifying expenditure has been incurred, by the individual as his or her only or main residence; ‘relevant local authority’ means the county council, the city council or the borough council or, where appropriate, the town council, within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001 in whose functional area the special regeneration area is situated; ‘total floor area’ means the total floor area of a house, measured in the manner referred to in section 4(2)(b) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979 .

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

372AAC.— (1) In this section— ‘conversion’, in relation to a building or structure, means any work of conversion, reconstruction or renewal, into a building suitable for use for the purposes of the retailing of goods or the provision of services only within the State and includes the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities carried out, or maintenance in the nature of repair; ‘property developer’ means a person carrying on a trade which consists wholly or mainly of the construction or refurbishment of buildings or structures with a view to their sale; ‘qualifying expenditure’ means capital expenditure incurred on the conversion or refurbishment of a qualifying premises; ‘qualifying premises’ means a building or structure (or part of a building or structure) the site of which is wholly within a special regeneration area, and which— (a) apart from this section is not an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 268, and (b) is— (i) in use for the purposes of the retailing of goods, or (ii) where subsection (3) applies, in use for the purposes of the retailing of goods or the provision of services only within the State, or (iii) let on bona fide commercial terms for such use as is referred to in subparagraph (i) or, as the case may be, subparagraph (ii) and for such consideration as might be expected to be paid in a letting of the building or structure negotiated on an arm’s length basis, but does not include any part of a building or structure in use as or as part of a dwelling house.