(I) of any share capital which it owns directly in a company if a profit on 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) a company shall be wholly or mainly under the control of an individual or individuals if not less than 75 per cent. of the ordinary share capital of the company is owned directly or indirectly by the individual or, as the case may be, by individuals, each of whom own directly or indirectly part of that share capital, (iii) sections 108 to 114 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph as they apply for the purposes of Part XI of that Act and where two companies are deemed to be members of a group by reason that both are wholly or mainly under the control of the same individual or individuals those sections shall apply as they would apply for the purposes of the said Part if the references in those sections to a parent company included a reference to an individual or individuals who hold shares in a company.”.
\nAmendment of section 31 (interest payments by companies and to non-residents) of Finance Act, 1974.
\n33.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1974 , is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (cc) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1988 ) of subsection (3) of the following: “(cc) interest paid to a person whose usual place of abode is outside the State by— (i) 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 , or (ii) a specified collective investment undertaking within the meaning of section 18 (as amended by section 35 of the Finance Act, 1996) of the Finance Act, 1989 , or”.
\nAllowance for mine rehabilitation expenditure.
\n34.—The Finance (Taxation of Profits of Certain Mines) Act, 1974 , is hereby amended by the insertion, after section 8, of the following section: “8A.—(1) (a) In this section— ‘integrated pollution control licence’ means a licence granted under section 83 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 ; ‘mine rehabilitation fund’, in relation to a qualifying mine, means a fund— (i) which consists of amounts paid by a person who is carrying on the trade of working a qualifying mine to another person (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘fund holder’) who is not connected with the first-mentioned person, (ii) which is obliged to be maintained under the terms— (I) of a State mining facility, or (II) of any other agreement in writing to which the Minister is a party and to which the State mining facility is subject, (iii) the sole purpose of which is to have available at the time a qualifying mine ceases to be worked such amount as is specified in a certificate given by the Minister under subsection (2) as being the amount which, in the Minister's opinion, could reasonably be expected to be necessary to meet rehabilitation expenditure in relation to the qualifying mine, and (iv) no part of which may be paid to the person, or a person connected with that person, who is working, or has worked the qualifying mine except where— (I) the fund holder has been authorised in writing by the Minister, and by either or both the relevant local authority and the Environmental Protection Agency, to make a payment to the person, or the connected person, as the case may be, for the purposes of incurring rehabilitation expenditure in relation to the qualifying mine, or (II) an amount may be paid to the person, or the connected person, as the case may be, after a certificate of completion of rehabilitation in relation to the qualifying mine has been submitted to, and approved by— (A) the Minister, and (B) either or both the relevant local authority and the Environmental Protection Agency; ‘the Minister’ means the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications; ‘qualifying mine’ means a mine that is being worked for the purpose of obtaining scheduled minerals, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, calcite and gypsum, or any of those minerals; ‘rehabilitation expenditure’ means expenditure incurred, in connection with the rehabilitation of the site of a mine, or part of a mine, in order to comply with any condition— (i) of a State mining facility, (ii) subject to which planning permission for development consisting of the mining and working of minerals was granted, or
\n(iii) subject to which an integrated pollution control licence for an activity specified in the First Schedule to the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 , was granted, by a person who has ceased to work the mine; ‘rehabilitation’ includes landscaping and the carrying out of any activities which take place after the mine ceases to be worked and which are required by a condition subject to which planning permission for development consisting of the mining and working of minerals, or an integrated pollution control licence, was granted; ‘relevant local authority’, in relation to a qualifying mine, means the council of a county or the corporation of a county or other borough or, where appropriate, the urban district council, in whose functional area the mine is situated; ‘relevant payments’ means payments specified in accordance with paragraph (b) (iii) of subsection (2) in a certificate given under that subsection and which are paid at or about the time specified in the certificate; ‘State mining facility’, in relation to a mine, means a State mining lease, a State mining licence or a State mining permission granted by the Minister in relation to the mine. (b) For the purposes of this section— (i) any reference to the site of a mine includes a reference to land used in connection with the working of the mine, and (ii) the net cost to any person of the rehabilitation of the site of a mine is the excess, if any, of rehabilitation expenditure over any receipts which are attributable to the rehabilitation (whether for spoil or other assets removed from the site or for tipping rights or otherwise).
\nProvided that— (i) the aggregate of the amounts of allowances under this subsection for a chargeable period and all preceding chargeable periods shall not exceed the aggregate of the amounts of relevant payments made in the chargeable period or its basis period and in all preceding chargeable periods or their basis periods, and (ii) where effect cannot be given to an allowance, or part of an allowance, under this subsection for a chargeable period by virtue of paragraph (i), the allowance or the part of the allowance, as the case may be, shall be added to the amount of an allowance under this subsection for the following chargeable period and, subject to paragraph (i), shall be deemed to be part of the allowance for that period, or, if there is no such allowance for that period, shall be deemed to be the allowance for that period, and so on for succeeding periods.
\n(10)
\nshall apply for the purposes of this section.”.
\nAmendment of section 18 (taxation of collective investment undertakings) of Finance Act, 1989.
\n35.—(1)
\n(as amended by the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1989 , is hereby amended in subsection (1)— (a) by the insertion after the definition of “return” of the following definition: “‘specified company’ means a company— (a) which is— (i) a qualified company carrying on relevant trading operations (within the meaning of section 39B of the Finance Act, 1980 ), or (ii) a qualified company carrying on relevant trading operations (within the meaning of section 39A of the Finance Act, 1980 ) so long as the relevant trading operations within the meaning of the said section 39A could be certified by the Minister for Finance as relevant trading operations for the purposes of section 39B of the Finance Act, 1980 , if they were carried on in the Area (within the meaning of the said section 39B) rather than in the airport (within the meaning of section 39A), and (b) not more than 25 per cent. of the share capital of which is owned directly or indirectly by persons resident in the State;”, and (b) by the insertion in paragraph (b) of the definition of “specified collective investment undertaking” after “ Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ,” of “a specified company”.
\nAmendment of section 13 (special investment schemes) of Finance Act, 1993.
\n36.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended in subsection (8) by the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph: “(bb) (i) Where in a year of assessment (in this paragraph referred to as ‘the first year of assessment’) any securities which are assets subject to any trust created in pursuance of a special investment scheme are disposed of and in the immediately following year of assessment interest becoming payable in respect of the securities is receivable by the special investment scheme, then, for the purposes of computing the chargeable gains for the first year of assessment the price paid by the management company or the trustee for the securities shall be treated as reduced by the appropriate amount in respect of the interest:
\nProvided that where for a year of assessment the provisions of this paragraph apply so as to reduce the price paid for securities, the amount by which the price paid for the securities is reduced shall be treated as a loss arising, in the immediately following year of assessment, from the disposal of the securities. (ii) In this paragraph— ‘the appropriate amount in respect of the interest’ means the appropriate amount in respect of the interest which would be determined in accordance with Schedule 11 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , if the management company or the trustee was the first buyer and the management company or the trustee carried on a trade to which section 368 (1) of the said Act applies:
\nProvided that in determining the appropriate amount in respect of the interest in accordance with the said Schedule 11, paragraph 3 (4) of that Schedule shall apply as if there were deleted ‘in the opinion of the Appeal Commissioners’; ‘securities’ has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 29 of the Finance Act, 1984 .”.
\nAmendment of section 14 (special portfolio investment accounts) of Finance Act, 1993.
\n37.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1) in the definition of “designated broker” by the insertion after “the Irish Stock Exchange” of “or is a member firm (which carries on a trade in the State through a branch or agency) of a stock exchange of any other Member State of the European Union”, and (b) in subsection (4) by the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph: “(bb) (i) Where in a year of assessment (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as ‘the first year of assessment’) securities which are assets of a special portfolio investment account are disposed of and in the immediately following year of assessment interest becoming payable in respect of the securities is receivable by the special portfolio investment account, then, for the purposes of computing the relevant income or gains for the first year of assessment, the price paid by the designated broker for the securities shall be treated as reduced by the appropriate amount in respect of the interest:
\nProvided that where for a year of assessment the provisions of this paragraph apply so as to reduce the price paid for securities, the amount by which the price paid for the securities is reduced shall be treated as a loss arising, in the immediately following year of assessment, from the disposal of the securities. (ii) In this paragraph— ‘the appropriate amount in respect of the interest’ means the appropriate amount in respect of the interest which would be determined in accordance with Schedule 11 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , if the designated broker were the first buyer and the designated broker carried on a trade to which section 368 (1) of that Act applies:
\nProvided that in so determining the appropriate amount in respect of the interest in accordance with the said Schedule 11, paragraph 3 (4) of that Schedule shall apply as if there were deleted ‘in the opinion of the Appeal Commissioners’; ‘securities’ has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 29 of the Finance Act, 1984 .”.
\nAmendment of section 17 (undertakings for collective investment) of Finance Act, 1993.
\n38.—(1)
\n(as amended by section 57 of the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended— (a) by the insertion after the proviso to paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of the following additional proviso to that paragraph: “Provided also that in computing profits for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, subsection (1A) of section 13 shall apply as if the rate per cent. of capital gains tax specified in subsection (3) of section 3 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , were the rate per cent. of corporation tax specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1.”, (b) by the insertion after paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of the following paragraph: “(e) Where in a chargeable period an undertaking for collective investment incurs a loss on the disposal (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned disposal’) of an asset the gain or loss in respect of a deemed disposal of which was included in a net amount to which paragraph (b) (ii) applied for any preceding chargeable period, so much of the allowable loss on the first-mentioned disposal as is equal to the excess of the amount of the loss over the amount which, if paragraph (a) had not been enacted, would have been the allowable loss on the first-mentioned disposal shall be treated for purposes of paragraph (b) as an allowable loss which would otherwise accrue to the undertaking for collective investment on disposals deemed by virtue of paragraph (a) to have been made in the chargeable period.”, and (c) by the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsection: “(6A) (a) Where in a chargeable period an undertaking for collective investment disposes of any securities and in the immediately following chargeable period or its basis period interest becoming payable in respect of the securities is receivable by the undertaking for collective investment, then, the gain or loss accruing on the disposal shall be computed as if the price paid by the undertaking for collective investment for the securities was reduced by the appropriate amount in respect of the interest:
\nProvided that where for a chargeable period the provisions of this paragraph apply so as to reduce the price paid for securities, the amount by which the price paid for the securities is reduced shall be treated as a loss arising, in the immediately following chargeable period, from the disposal of the securities. (b) In this paragraph— ‘the appropriate amount in respect of the interest’ means the appropriate amount in respect of the interest which would be determined in accordance with Schedule 11 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , if the undertaking for collective investment was the first buyer and it carried on a trade to which section 368 (1) of the said Act applies:
\nProvided that in determining the appropriate amount in respect of the interest in accordance with the said Schedule 11, paragraph 3 (4) of that Schedule shall apply as if there were deleted ‘in the opinion of the Appeal Commissioners’; ‘securities’ has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 29 of the Finance Act, 1984 .”.
\nExemption of bodies designated under section 4 of Securitisation (Proceeds of Certain Mortgages) Act, 1995, from certain tax provisions.
\n39.—(1) In this section “designated body” means a body designated under section 4
\n(4)
\nof the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (1) after “ Finance Act, 1994 ” (inserted by section 161 of the Finance Act, 1994 ) of “, or section 39 of the Finance Act, 1996”.
\n(5)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph: “(bb) securities issued by a designated body within the meaning assigned by section 1 of the Securitisation (Proceeds of Certain Mortgages) Act, 1995 ;”.
\n(6)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , shall apply to a gain accruing to a designated body as it does to a gain accruing to a body specified in that section.
\n(7)
\nof the Securitisation (Proceeds of Certain Mortgages) Act, 1995 , is hereby repealed and shall be deemed never to have had effect.
\nTreatment under Tax Acts of certain employment grants and recruitment subsidies.
\n40.—(1) An employment grant or recruitment subsidy to which this section applies shall be disregarded for all the purposes of the Tax Acts.
\nAmendment of section 17 (tax deduction from payments to subcontractors) of Finance Act, 1970.
\n41.—As respects relevant contracts (within the meaning of section 17 of the Finance Act, 1970 ) entered into on or after the passing of this Act, section 17 (inserted by the Finance Act, 1976 ) of the Finance Act, 1970 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the insertion of the following proviso to the definition of “relevant contract”: “Provided that a separate relevant contract shall be deemed to exist between the principal and each individual member of a gang or group of persons, including a partnership in respect of which the principal has not received a relevant payments card, where relevant operations are performed collectively by the gang or group, notwithstanding that any payment or part of a payment in respect of such relevant operations is made by the principal to one or more of the gang or group or to some other person;”, (b) in subsection (2), by the insertion after “the principal makes a payment” of “or is deemed to make a payment pursuant to subsection (2A)”, (c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(2A) Where relevant operations are performed by a gang or group of persons, including a partnership in respect of which the principal has not received a relevant payments card, and notwithstanding that any payment or part of a payment in respect of such relevant operations is made by the principal to one or more of the gang or group or to some other person, then such payment or part of a payment shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section and any regulations made thereunder, to have been made by the principal to the individual members of that gang or group in the proportions in which the payment or any amount in respect of the payment is to be divided amongst them.”, and (d) in paragraph (d) of subsection (5), by the insertion after “certificates of tax deducted from payments made to subcontractors” of “and the entry thereon of such particulars as may be specified in the regulations”.
\nProvisions supplemental to section 33 of Finance Act, 1986, relating to interest payments by certain deposit takers.
\n42.—The Finance Act, 1986 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 33: “33A.—(1) In this section— ‘specified deposit’ means a relevant deposit made on or after the 28th day of March, 1996, in respect of which specified interest is payable other than such a deposit— (a) which is held in a special savings account, or (b) in respect of which— (i) the interest payable is, to any extent, linked to, or determined by, changes in a stock exchange index or any other financial index, (ii) arrangements were, or were being put, in place by the relevant deposit taker prior to the 28th day of March, 1996, to accept such a deposit, and (iii) the deposit is made on or before the 7th day of June, 1996; ‘specified interest’ means interest in respect of a specified deposit other than so much of the amount of that interest as— (a) is payable annually or at more frequent intervals, or (b) cannot be determined until the date of payment of such interest, notwithstanding that the terms under which the deposit was made are complied with fully.
\nProvided that— (a) specified interest deemed to so accrue in the period from the 28th day of March, 1996, to the 5th day of April, 1996, shall be deemed to accrue in the year of assessment 1996-97, and (b) the amount of specified interest deemed, to be relevant interest paid by a relevant deposit taker in any year of assessment by virtue of this subsection shall not be less than such amount as would be deductible in respect of interest or any other amount payable on the specified deposit in computing the income of the relevant deposit taker for the year of assessment if the year of assessment were an accounting period of the relevant deposit taker.
\nProvided that so much of the amount of appropriate tax paid by the relevant deposit taker by virtue of subsection (2) as is referable to specified interest included in the said payment of relevant interest shall be set off against any amount of appropriate tax due and payable by it for the year of assessment in which that payment of interest is made or against any amount, or amount on account of, appropriate tax due and payable by it for a year of assessment subsequent to that year (any such set-off being effected as far as may be against an amount so due and payable at an earlier date rather than at a later date).
\nAmendment of section 51 (application of certain allowances in relation to certain areas and certain expenditure) of Finance Act, 1988.
\n43.—(1)
\n(as amended by the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1988 , is hereby amended in paragraph (a) in subsection (1) by the substitution for “provided for use for the purposes of trading operations” of “provided by a company for use for the purposes of trading operations carried on by it”.
\nCorporation Tax Reduced rate of corporation tax for certain income.
\n44.—The Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the insertion after section 28 of the following section: “28A.—(1) Notwithstanding section 1, so much of the profits of a company for an accounting period ending on or after the 1st day of April, 1996, that does not exceed the lower of either— (a) the specified amount in relation to the accounting period, or (b) the income of the company for the accounting period, shall be charged to corporation tax as if the rate of corporation tax for the financial year 1996 and each subsequent financial year were 30 per cent.
\nProvided that— (I) the aggregate of amounts allocated under paragraph (ii) for an accounting period shall not exceed the specified amount computed under paragraph (i), and (II) the amount allocated to an accounting period of a company shall not exceed the amount which would have been the specified amount in relation to the accounting period if the company had no associated companies in the accounting period.
\nProvided that the specified amount in relation to an accounting period of a company shall not exceed the amount which would be the specified amount in relation to the accounting period if the company had no associated companies in the accounting period.
\nAmendment of section 12A (foreign currency: computation of income and chargeable gains) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n45.—(1) Section 12A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1) (a) by the insertion after the definition of “relevant contract” of the following definition: “‘relevant tax contract’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means any contract entered into by the company for the purpose of eliminating or reducing the risk of loss being incurred by the company due to a change in the value of money payable in discharge of a liability of the company to corporation tax for the accounting period being a change resulting directly from a change in a rate of exchange of the functional currency (within the meaning of section 14A) of the company for the currency of the State;”, and (b) by the addition after subsection (3) of the following subsection: “(4) Notwithstanding section 13, so much of the amount of any gain or loss arising to a company which carries on a trade in the State in an accounting period as— (a) is attributable to any relevant tax contract in relation to the accounting period, (b) results directly from a change in a rate of exchange, and (c) (i) where it is a gain, does not exceed the amount of the loss which, if the company had not entered into the relevant tax contract, would have been incurred by the company, and (ii) where it is a loss, does not exceed the amount of the gain which, if the company had not entered into the relevant tax contract, would have arisen to the company, due to a change in the value of money payable in discharge of a liability of the company to corporation tax for the accounting period, shall not be a chargeable gain or an allowable loss, as the case may be, of the company.”.
\nAmendment of section 33A (acquisition expenses) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n46.—Section 33A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended in subsection (1) (as amended by the Finance Act, 1993 ) by the insertion after “ Finance Act, 1986 ,” of “or section 42 of the Finance Act, 1994 ,”.
\nAmendment of section 35A (chargeable gains of life business) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n47.—(1) Section 35A (inserted by section 11 (d) of the Finance Act, 1993 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following: “(1A) (a) Where in an accounting period a company disposes of any securities and in the immediately following accounting period interest becoming payable in respect of the securities is receivable by the company, the gain or loss accruing on the disposal shall be computed as if the price paid by the company for the securities was reduced by the appropriate amount in respect of the interest:
\nProvided that where for an accounting period the provisions of this paragraph apply so as to reduce the price paid for securities, the amount by which the price paid for the securities is reduced shall be treated as a loss arising, in the immediately following accounting period, from the disposal of the securities. (b) In this subsection— ‘the appropriate amount in respect of the interest’ means the appropriate amount in respect of the interest which would be determined in accordance with Schedule 11 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , if the company were the first buyer and it carried on a trade to which section 368 (1) of the said Act applies:
\nProvided that in so determining the appropriate amount in respect of the interest in accordance with the said Schedule 11, paragraph 3 (4) of that Schedule shall apply as if there were deleted ‘in the opinion of the Appeals Commissioners’; ‘securities’ has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 29 of the Finance Act, 1984 .”.
\nAmendment of section 36 (investment income reserved for policy holders) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n48.—(1)
\nof the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended in subsection (2) by the insertion of the following proviso: “Provided that in computing that part of those profits for the purposes of paragraph (b), subsection (1A) of section 13 shall apply as if the rate per cent. of capital gains tax specified in subsection (3) of section 3 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , were the rate per cent. of corporation tax specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1.”.
\nAmendment of section 36A (special investment policies) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n49.—(1) Section 36A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended in subsection (6) by the insertion of the following proviso: “Provided that in computing profits for the purposes of this subsection, subsection (1A) of section 13 shall apply as if the rate per cent. of capital gains tax specified in subsection (3) of section 3 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , were the rate per cent. of corporation tax specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1.”.
\nAmendment of section 46B (gains or losses arising by virtue of section 46A) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n50.—(1) Section 46B (inserted by the Finance Act, 1992 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the addition, after subsection (3), of the following subsection: “(4) Where in an accounting period a company incurs a loss on the disposal (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned disposal’) of an asset the gain or loss in respect of a deemed disposal of which was included in a net amount to which subsection (1)(b) applied for any preceding accounting period, then so much of the allowable loss on the first-mentioned disposal as is equal to the excess of the amount of the loss over the amount which, if section 46A had not been enacted, would have been the allowable loss on the first-mentioned disposal shall be treated for the purposes of this section as an allowable loss which would otherwise accrue on disposals deemed by virtue of section 46A to have been made in the company's accounting period.”.
\nAmendment of section 135 (company ceasing to be a member of a group) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n51.—As respects a company ceasing to be a member of a group of companies on or after the 28th day of March, 1996, section 135 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1) by the insertion after “or in consequence of another member of the group being wound up or dissolved” of “where the winding up or dissolution of the member or the other member, as the case may be, is for bona fide commercial reasons and is not part of a scheme or arrangement the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of tax”, and (b) by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection: “(2) Where two or more associated companies (hereafter in this subsection referred to as ‘the associated companies’) cease to be members of a group at the same time— (a) subsection (1) shall not have effect as respects an acquisition by one from another of the associated companies, and (b) where— (i) a dividend has been paid or a distribution has been made by one of the associated companies to a company which is not one of the associated companies, and (ii) the dividend so paid or the distribution so made, has been paid or made, as the case may be, wholly or partly out of profits which derive from the disposal of any asset by one to another of the associated companies, the amount of the dividend paid or the amount or value of the distribution made, to the extent that it is paid or made, as the case may be, out of those profits, shall be deemed for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , to be consideration (in addition to any other consideration) received by the member of the group or former member of the group in respect of a disposal, which disposal gave rise to or was caused by the associated companies ceasing to be members of the group:
\nProvided that paragraph (b) shall not apply to a distribution other than a dividend where a company ceases to be a member of a group of companies before the 23rd day of April, 1996.”.
\nAmendment of section 162 (surcharge on undistributed income of service companies) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976.
\n52.—(1)
\nof the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended in subsection (4)— (a) by the substitution of “15 per cent.” for “20 per cent.”, and (b) by the insertion in the proviso to that subsection of the following paragraph after paragraph (ii): “(iii) the surcharge shall apply to so much of the excess calculated under this subsection in respect of an accounting period of a company as is not greater than the excess of the aggregate of the distributable investment income and the distributable estate income of the accounting period over the distributions of the company for the accounting period as if the reference in this subsection, apart from this paragraph, to 15 per cent. were a reference to 20 per cent.”.
\nProvided that for the purpose of this section where an accounting period begins before the 1st day of April, 1996, and ends on or after that day, it shall be divided into two parts, one beginning on the day on which the accounting period begins and ending on the 31st day of March, 1996, and the other beginning on the 1st day of April, 1996, and ending on the day on which the accounting period ends, and both of the parts shall be treated as if they were separate accounting periods.
\nAmendment of section 39A (relief in relation to income from certain trading operations carried on in Shannon Airport) of Finance Act, 1980.
\n53.—Section 39A of the Finance Act, 1980 , is hereby amended in subsection (6) (c) by the insertion after “selling by retail” of “otherwise than by mail order, or other distance selling, which satisfies the requirement of subsection (5) (b)”.
\nAmendment of section 28 (relief in relation to income from qualifying shipping trade) of Finance Act, 1987.
\n54.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1987 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “qualifying ship”: “(a) (i) is owned to the extent of not less than 51 per cent. by a person or persons resident in the State, or (ii) is the subject of a letting on charter without crew by a lessor not resident in the State, (b) in the case of a vessel to which paragraph (a) (i) applies, is registered in the State under
\nof the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 , and, in the case of a vessel to which paragraph (a) (ii) applies, is a vessel in respect of which it can be shown that all the requirements of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1993, have been complied with as if it had been a vessel registered under the said Part II,”.
\nAmendment of section 31 (securitisation of assets) of Finance Act, 1991.
\n55.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1991 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) by the substitution for the definition of “qualifying asset” of the following: “‘original lender’ and ‘originator’ have the meanings they have, respectively, in the definition of ‘qualifying asset’; ‘qualifying asset’ means— (a) in the case of a qualifying company which is a qualified company (within the meaning of section 39B of the Finance Act, 1980 ), an asset— (i) denominated in a foreign currency which consists of, or of an interest in or a contractual right to, any loan, lease, trade or consumer receiveable or other debt or receiveable whether secured or unsecured, and (ii) of a person (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘originator’), being any government, public or local authority, company or other body corporate which— (I) is not resident in the State, and (II) (A) is not carrying on a trade in the State through a branch or agency, or (B) is carrying on a trade in the State through a branch or agency and the asset was not created, acquired or held by or in connection with the branch or agency, and (b) in any other case, a loan made by a company (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘original lender’) on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or interest in the ordinary course of a trade carried on by it which consists of or includes the lending of money on such security;”, (ii) in the definition of “qualifying company”— (I) by the insertion after “original lenders” of “, or the originator or originators”, and (II) by the insertion after “any other business” of “, apart from activities which are ancillary to the said business of the management of qualifying assets”, and (b) in subsection (2)— (i) by the insertion in subparagraph (b) (ii) after “the original lender” of “or the originator, as the case may be,”, and (ii) by the insertion in the proviso to paragraph (b) after “Provided that” of “in the case of a company referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘qualifying asset’.”.
\nAmendment of section 56 (relief for gifts to The Enterprise Trust Ltd.) of Finance Act, 1992.
\n56.—
\n(as amended by section 51 of the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of “31st day of December, 1997,” for “31st day of December, 1996,”, and (b) by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection: “(3) Subject to subsection (2), where a company (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the ‘donor’) makes a gift to which this section applies and claims relief from tax by reference thereto, the net amount thereof shall, for the purposes of corporation tax, be treated as— (a) a deductible trading expense of a trade carried on by the donor, or (b) an expense of management deductible in computing the total profits of the donor, incurred by it in the accounting period in which the gift is made:
\nProvided that in determining the net amount of the gift, the amount or value of any consideration received by the said donor as a result of making the gift, whether received directly or indirectly from the company or any other person, shall be deducted from the amount of the gift.”.
\nAmendment of section 59 (deduction for certain expenditure on research and development) of Finance Act, 1995.
\n57.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1995 , is hereby amended in subsection (1)— (a) in paragraph (a)— (i) in the definition of “qualifying group expenditure on research and development” by the substitution for the meaning assigned to “D” of “D is the amount of group base expenditure on research and development”, (ii) in the definition of “relevant period” by the addition of the following proviso: “Provided that a period shall not be a relevant period if it commences on or after the 1st day of June, 1999;”, and (b) in paragraph (b), by the deletion of “and” at the end of the proviso to subparagraph (ii), the insertion of “and” after “expended in the State,” in subparagraph (iii) and the substitution for subparagraph (iv) of the following: “(iv) expenditure on research and development shall not be regarded as having been incurred in a relevant period by a company which is a member of a group if— (I) in the relevant period the aggregate of amounts received by companies which are members of the group, being amounts paid, directly or indirectly, to the companies by the State or by a person, other than a company which is a member of the group, to enable the company to meet the cost of such expenditure, exceeds £50,000, or (II) it is expenditure— (A) approved by Forbairt under any scheme administered by it, and (B) which has been or is to be met, to any extent, directly or indirectly by the State or any person other than a company which is a member of the group.”.
\nAmendment of Chapter VII (advance corporation tax) of Part I of the Finance Act, 1983 .
\n58.—(1) Chapter VII of
\nof the Finance Act, 1983 , is hereby amended— (a) in section 44, by the substitution in subsection (5) for “apply for the purposes of that section” of “would apply for the purposes of that section if ‘resident in the State’ in paragraph (c) of the said subsection (6) were deleted”, and (b) in subsection (1) of section 47— (i) by the substitution for clause (I) of paragraph (a)(ii) of the following: “(I) (A) of which the first-mentioned company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary, or (B) which is a member of a consortium which owns the first-mentioned company, and”, and (ii) by the insertion after paragraph (c) of the following paragraph: “(d) For the purposes of paragraph (a) a company is owned by a consortium if three-quarters or more of the ordinary share capital of the company is beneficially owned between them by five or fewer companies of which none beneficially owns less than one-twentieth of that capital, and those companies are called members of the consortium.”.
\nCapital Gains Tax Amendment of paragraph 11 (disposal of certain assets) of Schedule 4 to Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975.
\n59.—Paragraph 11 (inserted by the Finance Act, 1982 ) of Schedule 4 to the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended— (a) in subparagraph (8) by the substitution for “the consideration” of “the amount or value of the consideration, in money or money's worth,”, and (b) in subparagraph (10A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1995 ) by the insertion of the following proviso: “Provided that this subparagraph shall not apply where there is a disposal of an asset by virtue of a capital sum being derived from the asset under a policy of insurance of the risk of any kind of damage to the asset.”.
\nAmendment of section 26 (disposal of business or farm on retirement) of Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975.
\n60.—(1)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended in subsection (6) (a) by the insertion in the definition of “family company” of the following proviso: “Provided that where a company which is a holding company, would not, but for this proviso, be an individual's family company, but would be such a company if the individual had not at any time on or after the 6th day of April, 1987, and before the 6th day of April, 1990, disposed of shares in the company to a child (within the meaning of section 27) of the individual, the company shall be deemed to be the individual's family company;”.
\nAmendment of section 46 (debts) of Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975.
\n61.—(1)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (6): “(7) For the purposes of this section a debenture issued by any company shall be deemed to be a security (within the meaning assigned by paragraph 3 of Schedule 2) if it is issued— (a) on a reorganisation (as provided for in paragraph 2 (1) of Schedule 2) or in pursuance of its allotment on any such reorganisation, (b) in exchange for shares in or debentures of another company where the requirements of paragraph 4 (2) of Schedule 2 are satisfied in relation to the exchange, (c) under any such arrangements as are referred to in paragraph 5 (1) of Schedule 2, or (d) in pursuance of rights attached to any debenture falling within paragraph (a), (b) or (c).”.
\nAmendment of section 27 (relief for individuals on certain reinvestment) of Finance Act, 1993.
\n62.—(1)
\n(as amended by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(2A) (a) Where an individual who is not entitled to be treated in accordance with subsection (2) solely by reason of not having satisfied the requirements of either or both paragraph (a) and (d) of subsection (5) of this section, and— (i) all the other requirements of the section have been satisfied, (ii) the capital gains tax on the disposal of the original holding has been paid in full, and (iii) the individual has, throughout a period of 2 years beginning within the specified period, been a full-time employee or a full-time director of the qualifying company, then the individual shall— (I) be entitled on making a claim in that behalf to such repayment of capital gains tax as would secure that the tax which is ultimately borne by the individual does not exceed the tax which would have been borne by the individual if the said individual had been entitled to be treated in accordance with subsection (2), and (II) be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if the chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the original holding did not accrue until he disposes of the qualifying investment, and the proviso to subsection (2) shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection as it has for the purposes of that subsection. (b) Any repayment of tax under this subsection shall not carry interest.”.
\nAmendment of section 66 (reduced rate of capital gains tax on certain disposals of shares by individuals) of Finance Act, 1994.
\n63.—(1)
\n(as amended by section 75 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1994 , is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution in subsection (6) of “3 years” for “5 years”, and (b) by the substitution in paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of “3 years” for “5 years”.
\nExemption of certain milk boards and associated companies from capital gains tax.
\n64.—(1) In this section— “the Boards” means— (a) the Dublin District Milk Board established under the Dublin District Milk Board Order, 1936 (S.R. & O. No. 254 of 1936), and (b) the Cork District Milk Board established under the Cork District Milk Board Order, 1937 (S.R. & O. No. 91 of 1937); “the companies” means— (a) the company incorporated on the 19th day of November, 1991, as Dairysan Limited, and (b) the company incorporated on the 14th day of February, 1994, as Glenlee (Cork) Limited; “the Interim Board” means the Interim Board established under the Milk (Regulation of Supply) (Establishment of Interim Board) Order, 1994, ( S.I. No. 408 of 1994 ).
\n(2)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , shall apply to a gain accruing on the disposal on or after the 5th day of December, 1994, of an asset— (a) by the Boards or the companies to the Interim Board, and (b) by the Interim Board, as it applies to a gain accruing to a body specified in that section.
\nIncome Tax and Corporation Tax: Reliefs for Renewal and Improvement of Residential Accommodation on Certain Islands Interpretation (
\n).
\n65.—(1) In this Chapter— “certificate of reasonable cost” means a certificate granted by the Minister for the Environment for the purposes of section 66 , 67 , 68 or 69 , as the case may be, stating that the amount specified in the certificate in relation to the cost of construction of, conversion into, refurbishment of, or, as the case may be, construction or refurbishment of, the house to which the certificate relates appears to the Minister at the time of the granting of the certificate and on the basis of the information available to the Minister at that time to be reasonable, and section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 , shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to a certificate of reasonable cost as if it were a certificate of reasonable value; “certificate of reasonable value” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ; “designated island” means any of the following islands, that is to say— (a) in the administrative county of Cork, the islands of Bere, Clear, Dursey, Hare, Long, Sherkin and Whiddy, (b) in the administrative county of Donegal, the islands of Arranmore, Inishbofin, Inishfree and Tory, (c) in the administrative county of Galway, the islands of Inisbofin, Inisheer, Inishmaan and Inishmore, (d) in the administrative county of Limerick, the island of Foynes, (e) in the administrative county of Mayo, the islands of Claggan, Clare, Inishbiggle, Inishcottle, Inishlyre and Inishturk, and (f) in the administrative county of Sligo, the island of Coney; “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 thereto or usually enjoyed therewith; “lease”, “lessee”, “lessor”, “premium” 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 house, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the building 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 or house:
\nProvided 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 house is constructed; “qualifying period” means the period commencing on the 1st day of August, 1996, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1999; “total floor area” means the total floor area of a house measured in the manner referred to in section 4
\nDeduction for certain expenditure on construction of rented residential accommodation.
\n66.—(1) In this section— “qualifying lease”, in relation to a house, means, subject to section 70
\nProvided that, where any premium or other sum which is payable, directly or indirectly, under a qualifying lease, or otherwise under the terms subject to which the lease is granted, to or for the benefit of the lessor or to or for the benefit of any person connected with the lessor, or any part of such premium or sum, is not, or is not treated as, an amount by way of rent for the purposes of the said section 81, the expenditure falling to be treated as having been incurred in the qualifying period on the construction of the qualifying premises to which the qualifying lease relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of this subsection, to be reduced by the lesser of— (a) the amount of the said premium or sum or, as the case may be, the said part of such premium or sum, and (b) the amount which bears to the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) the same proportion as the amount of the expenditure actually incurred on the construction of the qualifying premises which falls to be treated under section 70
\nProvided 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 70
\nProvided 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.
\nRented residential accommodation: deduction for expenditure on conversion.
\n67.—(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 on a designated island, and (ii) which has not been previously in use as a dwelling, and (b) the conversion into two or more houses of a building— (i) the site of which is on a designated island, 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 70 to “conversion”, “conversion into a house” and “expenditure incurred on conversion” shall be construed accordingly; “qualifying lease”, in relation to a house, means, subject to section 70
\nProvided that, in the case of a house which is part of a building and which is not saleable apart from the building of which it is a part, the market value of the house at the time the conversion is completed shall, for the purposes of paragraph (b), be taken to be an amount which bears to the market value of the building at that time the same proportion as the total floor area of the house bears to the total floor area of the building; “qualifying premises” means, subject to subsections (2), (3) (b) and (4) of section 70 , a house— (a) which is used solely as a dwelling, (b) 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, (c) in respect of which there is in force a certificate of reasonable cost the amount specified in which in respect of the cost of conversion in relation to the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the expenditure actually incurred on such conversion, and (d) which, without having been used subsequent to the incurring of the expenditure on the conversion, 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 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.
\nProvided that, where any premium or other sum which is payable, directly or indirectly, under a qualifying lease, or otherwise under the terms subject to which the lease is granted, to or for the benefit of the lessor or to or for the benefit of any person connected with the lessor, or any part of such premium or sum, is not, or is not treated as, an amount by way of rent for the purposes of the said section 81, the conversion expenditure falling to be treated as having been incurred in the qualifying period in relation to the qualifying premises to which the qualifying lease relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of this subsection, to be reduced by the lesser of— (a) the amount of the said premium or sum or, as the case may be, the said part of such premium or sum, and (b) the amount which bears to the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) the same proportion as the amount of the conversion expenditure actually incurred in relation to the qualifying premises which falls to be treated under section 70
\nProvided 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— (a) the net price paid by such person on the sale, or (b) in case only a part of the conversion expenditure incurred in relation to the house falls to be treated, under section 70
\nProvided that, where the house is sold more than once before it is used subsequent to the incurring of the conversion expenditure in relation to the house, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect only in relation to the last of those sales.
\nRented residential accommodation: deduction for expenditure on refurbishment.
\n68.—(1) In this section— “qualifying lease”, in relation to a house, means, subject to section 70
\nProvided that, in the case of a house which is part of a building and which is not saleable apart from the building of which it is a part, the market value of the house on that date shall, for the purposes of paragraph (b), be taken to be an amount which bears to the market value of the building on that date the same proportion as the total floor area of the house bears to the total floor area of the building; “qualifying premises” means, subject to subsections (2), (3) (b) and (4) of section 70 , a house— (a) which is used solely as a dwelling, (b) 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, (c) in respect of which there is in force a certificate of reasonable cost the amount specified in which in respect of the cost of refurbishment in relation to the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the relevant expenditure actually incurred on such refurbishment, and (d) which, on the date of completion of the refurbishment to which the relevant expenditure relates, is let (or, if it is not let on that date, is, without having been used after that date, 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; “refurbishment”, in relation to a building, means either or both of the following, that is to say: (a) the carrying out of any works of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal, and (b) the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities, where the carrying out of such works, or the provision of such facilities, is certified by the Minister for the Environment, in any certificate of reasonable cost granted by that Minister in relation to any house contained in the building, to have been necessary for the purposes of ensuring the suitability as a dwelling of any house in the building and whether or not the number of houses in the building, or the shape or size of any such house, is altered in the course of such refurbishment; “relevant expenditure” means expenditure incurred on the refurbishment of a specified building, other than expenditure attributable to any part (hereafter in this section referred to as a “non-residential unit”) of the building which, upon completion of the refurbishment, is not a house; and, for the purposes of this definition, where expenditure is attributable to the specified building in general (and not directly to any particular house or non-residential unit comprised in the building upon completion of the refurbishment) such an amount of that expenditure shall be deemed to be attributable to a non-residential unit as bears to the whole of that expenditure the same proportion as the total floor area of the non-residential unit bears to the total floor area of the building;
\n“relevant period”, in relation to a qualifying premises, means the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the completion of the refurbishment to which the relevant expenditure relates or, if the premises was not let under a qualifying lease on that date, the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the first such letting after the date of such completion; “specified building” means a building— (a) the site of which is on a designated island, (b) in which, prior to the refurbishment to which the relevant expenditure relates, there are one or more houses, and (c) which, upon completion of that refurbishment, contains (whether in addition to any non-residential unit or not) one or more houses.
\nProvided that, where any premium or other sum which is payable (directly or indirectly), on or subsequent to the date of the completion of the refurbishment to which the relevant expenditure relates (or which, if payable before that date, is so payable by reason of, or otherwise in connection with, the carrying out of the refurbishment), to or for the benefit of the lessor or to or for the benefit of any person connected with the lessor, or any part of such premium or sum, is not, or is not treated as, an amount by way of rent for the purposes of the said section 81, the relevant expenditure falling to be treated as having been incurred in the qualifying period in relation to the qualifying premises to which the qualifying lease relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of this subsection, to be reduced by the lesser of— (a) the amount of the said premium or sum or, as the case may be, the said part of such premium or sum, and (b) the amount which bears to the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) the same proportion as the amount of the relevant expenditure actually incurred in relation to the qualifying premises which falls to be treated under section 70
\nProvided 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— (a) the net price paid by such person on the sale, or (b) in case only a part of the relevant expenditure incurred in relation to the house falls to be treated, under section 70
\nProvided that, where the house is sold more than once before it is used subsequent to the incurring of the relevant expenditure in relation to the house, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect only in relation to the last of those sales.
\nResidential accommodation: allowance to owner-occupiers in respect of expenditure on construction or refurbishment.
\n69.—(1) In this section— “qualifying expenditure”, in relation to an individual, means an amount equal to the amount of the expenditure incurred by the individual on the construction or, as the case may be, refurbishment of a qualifying premises which is a qualifying owner-occupied dwelling in relation to the individual after deducting from that amount of expenditure any sum in respect of or by reference to that expenditure, or in respect of or by reference to the qualifying premises or the construction or, as the case may be, refurbishment work in respect of which it 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 owner-occupied dwelling”, in relation to an individual, means a qualifying premises which is first used, after the qualifying expenditure has been incurred, by such an individual as that individual's only or main residence; “qualifying premises”, in relation to the incurring of qualifying expenditure, means, subject to subsections (3) and (4) (a) of section 70 , a house— (a) the site of which is on a designated island, (b) which is used solely as a dwelling, (c) 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 or, as the case may be, refurbishment of the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the expenditure actually incurred on such construction or refurbishment, as the case may be, and (d) 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; “refurbishment” has the same meaning as in section 68 .
\nProvided that a deduction shall be given under this section in respect of qualifying expenditure only in so far as that expenditure falls to be treated under section 70
\nProvisions supplementary to sections 66 to 69 .
\n70.—(1) A lease shall not be a qualifying lease for the purposes of section 66 , 67 or 68 if the terms of the lease contain any provisions enabling the lessee or any other person, directly or indirectly, at any time to acquire any interest in the house to which the lease relates for a consideration which is less than that which might be expected to be given at that time for the acquisition of the interest if the negotiations for that acquisition were conducted in the open market at arm's length.
\nCustoms & Excise
\nVehicle Registration Tax Interpretation
\n.
\n71.—In this Chapter “the Act of 1992” means the Finance Act, 1992 .
\nAmendment of section 130 (interpretation) of Act of 1992.
\n72.—Section 130 of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended— (a) by the insertion in the definition of “category A vehicle” (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992 ) after “a category D vehicle,” of “a crew cab, a motor caravan,”, (b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “category B vehicle” (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992 ): “‘category B vehicle’ means a vehicle (other than a category A vehicle, a category D vehicle, a motor-cycle or a listed vehicle) which is not more than 3 tonnes unladen weight and which— (a) has a roofed area to the rear of the driver's seat the floor of which is less than 2 metres in length when measured in such manner as may be approved by the Commissioners:
\nProvided that, where a motor vehicle is of not more than 1.3 tonnes unladen weight and the roofed area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat has a load volume of more than 2 cubic metres when measured in such manner as the Commissioners may approve, the vehicle shall not be regarded as a category B vehicle, or (b) is a crew cab, or (c) is a motor caravan;”, (c) by the insertion after the definition of “conversion” of the following: “‘crew cab’ means a vehicle which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to be comprised of a cab with seating for a driver and a minimum of three and a maximum of six other persons and a cargo area to the rear of the cab— (a) the floor of which is not less than 2 metres in length when measured in such manner as may be approved by the Commissioners, and (b) which is completely separated from the cab by a partition which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to be permanently fixed;”, and (d) by the insertion after the definition of “the Minister” of the following: “‘motor caravan’ means a vehicle which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to be designed, constructed or adapted to provide temporary living accommodation which has an interior height of not less than 1.8 metres when measured in such manner as may be approved by the Commissioners and, in respect of which vehicle, such design, construction or adaptation incorporates the following permanently fitted equipment— (a) a sink unit, (b) cooking equipment of not less than a hob with 2 rings or such other cooking equipment as may be prescribed, and (c) any other equipment or fittings as may be prescribed;”.
\nAmendment of section 135B (repayment of amounts in respect of vehicle registration tax in certain cases) of Act of 1992.
\n73.—Section 135B (inserted by section 98 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following proviso to subsection (1): “Provided that for the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (e) any reference to ‘the person’ may, in the application of those provisions, be construed by the Commissioners as a reference to the person concerned or to that person's spouse.”.
\nAmendment of section 141 (regulations) of Act of 1992.
\n74.—Section 141 of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended in subsection (2), by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (s) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1995 ): “(s) make provision (including the prescription of conditions, restrictions and limitations) in relation to subsections (7), (11) and (15) of section 134 and section 135B, (t) prescribe permanently fitted equipment for the purposes of the definition of ‘motor caravan’ in section 130.”.
\nMiscellaneous Exemption from duty on certain bets.
\n75.—(1) (a) The duty on bets to which section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926 , relates shall not be charged or levied on bets entered into on or after the commencement of this subsection where such bets— (i) are entered into— (I) during a meeting at which a series of greyhound races is held, and (II) at the place at which such meeting is held, and (ii) are in respect of one or more than one event taking place at a place other than at such meeting. (b) The provisions of paragraph (a) shall not apply to bets entered into by any means of telecommunications.
\nReductions of duty on certain gaming machine licences.
\n76.—Paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 74
\nAmendment of section 155 (spirits retailers' on-licences) of Finance Act, 1992.
\n77.—
\nof the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of the following proviso for the proviso to the definition of “excluded business activity”: “Provided that the provision of entertainment or the sale of snack foods, beverages for consumption on the premises or tobacco products shall be regarded as so related and that the provision of meals shall not be regarded as so related.”.
\nAmendment of section 92 (tax concessions for disabled drivers, etc.) of Finance Act, 1989.
\n78.—
\n(as amended by section 124 of the Finance Act, 1991 ) of the Finance Act, 1989 , is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution in paragraph (ii) of “10 per cent.” for “20 per cent.”.
\nHydrocarbons and substitute motor fuel.
\n79.—(1) In this section— “the Act of 1994” means the Finance Act, 1994 ; “the Order of 1975” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 ( S.I. No. 307 of 1975 ).
\n