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6 1967

INCOME TAX ACT, 1967

PART XXI

Charitable and Other Exemptions

Rents of property belonging to hospitals and other charities.

333. —(1) Exemption shall be granted—

(a) from income tax chargeable under Schedule A or, by virtue of Chapter VI of Part IV, under Schedule D, in respect of the rents and profits of any property belonging to any hospital, public school or almshouse, or vested in trustees for charitable purposes, so far as the same are applied to charitable purposes only:

Provided that any assessment upon the respective properties shall not be vacated or altered, but shall be in force and levied, notwithstanding the allowance of any such exemption;

(b) from income tax chargeable under Schedule C in respect of any interest, annuities, dividends or shares of annuities, and from income tax chargeable under Schedule D, in respect of any yearly interest or other annual payment forming part of the income of any body of persons or trust established for charitable purposes only, or which, according to the rules or regulations established by statute, charter, decree, deed of trust, or will, are applicable to charitable purposes only, and so far as the same are applied to charitable purposes only;

(c) from income tax chargeable under Schedule C in respect of any interest, annuities, dividends or shares of annuities, in the names of trustees applicable solely towards the repairs of any cathedral, college, church or chapel, or any building used solely for the purposes of divine worship, and so far as the same are applied to those purposes.

(2) (a) This subsection applies to every gift (within the meaning of the Charities Act, 1961 ) made before the 1st day of July, 1961, which, if it had been made on or after that day would, by virtue of section 50 of that Act (which relates to gifts for graves and memorials) have been, to the extent provided in that section, a gift for charitable purposes.

(b) Subsection (1) shall have effect in relation to a gift to which this subsection applies as if the gift had been made on or after the 1st day of July, 1961.

Lands owned and occupied, and trades carried on, by charities.

334. —(1) Exemption shall be granted—

(a) from income tax chargeable under Schedule A in respect of property owned and occupied by a charity, not being such lands, tenements, or hereditaments as are mentioned in section 27;

(b) from income tax chargeable under Schedule B in respect of lands occupied by a charity:

Provided that the exemption under this paragraph shall not apply in the case of lands which are occupied for the purpose of husbandry unless the profits, if any arising therefrom are applied solely to the purposes of the charity;

(c) from income tax chargeable under Schedule D in respect of the profits of a trade carried on by any charity, if the profits are applied solely to the purposes of the charity and either—

(i) the trade is exercised in the course of the actual carrying out of a primary purpose of the charity, or

(ii) the work in connection with the trade is mainly carried on by beneficiaries of the charity.

(2) The exemption granted by subsections (1) (a) and (1) (b) shall not extend to tax in respect of any rent payable or other annual payment to be made by a charity in respect of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or to any parts of those lands, tenements, or hereditaments, which are in the use and enjoyment of a person whose total annual income from all sources estimated in accordance with the provisions of this Act amounts to not less than £150.

(3) In this section “charity” means any body of persons or trust established for charitable purposes only.

Friendly societies.

335. —An unregistered friendly society whose income does not exceed £160 shall be entitled to exemption from tax, and a registered friendly society which is precluded, by statute or by its rules, from assuring to any person a sum exceeding £300 by way of gross sum, or £52 a year by way of annuity, shall be entitled to exemption from tax under Schedules A, C, and D.

Trade unions.

336. —A registered trade union which is precluded, by statute or by its rules, from assuring to any person a sum exceeding £600 by way of gross sum, or £250 a year by way of annuity, shall be entitled to exemption from tax under Schedules A, C, and D in respect of its interest and dividends which are applicable and applied solely for the purpose of provident benefits.

In this section, “provident benefits” includes any payment, expressly authorised by the registered rules of the trade union, which is made to a member during sickness or incapacity from personal injury or while out of work, or to an aged member by way of superannuation, or to a member who has met with an accident, or has lost his tools by fire or theft, and includes a payment in discharge or aid of funeral expenses on the death of a member, or the wife of a member, or as provision for the children of a deceased member.

Savings Banks.

337. —(1) Any savings bank certified under the Trustee Savings Bank Acts, 1863 to 1958, shall be entitled to exemption from tax in respect of its interest and dividends—

(a) arising from investments with the National Debt Commissioners, and

(b) arising from investments of moneys to the credit of the special account opened in pursuance of section 31 (3) of the Finance Act, 1940 .

(2) Any savings bank, whether certified under the Trustee Savings Bank Acts, 1863 to 1958, or not, shall be entitled to exemption from tax under Schedules C and D in respect of the income of its funds, so far as such income is applied in the payment or credit of interest to any depositor:

Provided that—

(a) any such interest shall be chargeable under Case III of Schedule D; and

(b) where the interest paid or credited to any depositor in the year for which exemption is claimed by the bank exceeds the sum of £5, the bank and any branch thereof shall make a return to the inspector for the district in which the bank or branch is situate of the name and place of residence of every depositor to whom any such sum has been paid or credited, and of the amount thereof, and unless such returns are duly made, the bank shall not be entitled to any relief in respect of any such sums. Any such return shall be made on or before the 1st day of May in the year following that in respect of which exemption is claimed.

Relief for income from investments under Social Welfare Act, 1952.

338. —The Minister for Finance shall be entitled to exemption from tax in respect of the income derived from investments made under section 39 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 .

Repayment claims.

339. —(1) Any claim under sections 333 and 335 to 337 shall be made to the Special Commissioners in writing, in such form as may be prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners, and the Special Commissioners on proof of the facts to their satisfaction shall allow such claim accordingly.

(2) The Special Commissioners shall require every such claim to be verified by affidavit, and proof of the claim may be given by the treasurer, trustee, or any duly authorised agent.

(3) Where the Special Commissioners allow a claim they shall issue an order for repayment.

(4) A person who makes a false or fraudulent claim for exemption under the said sections in respect of any interest, annuities, dividends or shares of annuities charged or chargeable under Schedule C shall forfeit the sum of £100.

Military and other pensions, gratuities and allowances.

340. —(1) Income to which this section applies shall be exempt from tax and shall not be reckoned in computing income for the purposes of this Act.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) (i) all wound and disability pensions, and all increases in such pensions, granted under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1962, or those Acts and any subsequent Act together with which those Acts may be cited;

(ii) all gratuities in respect of wounds or disabilities similarly granted:

Provided that, where the amount of any pension to which subparagraph (i) applies is not solely attributable to disability, the relief conferred by this section shall extend only to such part as is certified by the Minister for Defence to be attributable to disability;

(b) military gratuities and demobilisation pay granted to officers of the National Forces or the Defence Forces of Ireland on demobilisation;

(c) (i) deferred pay, within the meaning of any regulations under the Defence Act, 1954 , which is credited to the pay account of a member of the Defence Forces;

(ii) gratuities granted in respect of service with the Defence Forces;

(d) (i) every allowance granted under section 8 of the Army Pensions Act, 1923 , or under section 12 of the Army Pensions Act, 1932 , as amended by the Army Pensions Act, 1927 , by the Army Pensions Act, 1937 , or by the Army Pensions (Increase) Act, 1949 , to the widow or to any child or dependant of a person who was killed during the Rising of April and May, 1916;

(ii) any allowance granted under section 4 of the Army Pensions Act, 1953 , to the widow, parent, sister or brother of a person who was killed during the Rising of April and May, 1916;

(iii) any allowance payable under section 3 of the Army Pensions Act, 1937 ;

(iv) any allowance payable under section 45 of the Army Pensions Act, 1953 ;

(e) any yearly sum payable under section 1 of the Griffith Settlement Act, 1923 ;

(f) the pension payable under section 1 of the MacSwiney (Pension) Act, 1950 ;

(g) a pension payable under the Pensions Act, 1952 .

(3) In subsection (2) (d), “killed” has the same meaning as it has in section 8 of the Army Pensions Act, 1923 .

Exemption of Commonwealth representatives.

341. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, exemption shall be granted from tax in respect of the emoluments payable by a Government to which this section for the time being applies to any person employed by such Government as a diplomatic or trade representative or other like representative in the State or as a member of the staff in the State of such representative and no account shall be taken of any such emoluments in estimating the amount of the income of such person for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Exemption shall be granted to a person under this section in respect only of a period during which such person is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to have been resident in the State solely for the purpose of performing the duties in respect of which the said emoluments are payable to him and not to have been exercising in the State any other trade, employment, or vocation.

(3) If any person has paid tax from which he would be entitled to be exempted under this section he shall be entitled to repayment of such tax.

(4) This section applies to every Government of the several countries comprised in the British Commonwealth of Nations in respect of which the Revenue Commissioners are for the time being satisfied that it gives to diplomatic and trade representatives of the Government of Ireland and the members of their staffs a similar exemption to that given by this section to the diplomatic and trade representatives of the first-mentioned Government and the members of their staffs.

Exemption of consular representatives.

342. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, exemption shall be granted from tax in respect of the emoluments payable by a foreign state to which this section applies to any person who, being a citizen of such foreign state, is permanently employed in the consular service of such state and is appointed to serve in the State and in respect of any income arising outside the State accruing to any such person, and no account shall be taken of any such emoluments or income in estimating the amount of income of such person for the purposes of this Act.

(2) If any person has paid tax from which he would be entitled to be exempted under this section he shall be entitled to repayment of such tax.

(3) This section applies to every foreign state in respect of which the Revenue Commissioners are for the time being satisfied that it gives to persons permanently employed in the consular service of the State a similar exemption to that given by this section to persons permanently employed in the consular service of such foreign state.

Exemption of harbour authorities.

343. —Exemption shall be granted from tax under Schedule D in respect of so much of the profits or gains of an authority controlling a harbour situate within the State as arise from the provision in that harbour of such facilities and accommodation for vessels, goods and passengers as are ordinarily provided by authorities controlling harbours, situate within the State, in those harbours.

Exemption of interest on certain deposits.

344. —(1) Where the total income of an individual for the year of assessment includes, or would but for this section include, any sums (in this section referred to as the said sums) paid or credited in respect of interest on deposits with a trustee savings bank, with the Post Office Savings Bank or with any of the commercial banks, the said sums shall be disregarded for all the purposes of this Act if or in so far as the said sums do not exceed £50, but the provisions of this Act as regards the making by the individual of a return of his total income shall apply as if this section had not been enacted.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) the question whether or how far the said sums exceed £50 shall, where by virtue of section 192, a woman's income is deemed to be her husband's, be determined separately as regards the part of his income which is his by virtue of that section and the part which is his apart from that section.

(3) Where any sums arising to an individual are, by virtue of this section, to be disregarded, the individual shall not be treated, by reason of such disregarding, as having ceased to possess the whole of a single source within the meaning of section 75.

(4) In this section—

total income” means total income from all sources as estimated in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

the commercial banks” means the Bank of Ireland, the Hibernian Bank, Limited, the Munster and Leinster Bank, Limited, The National Bank of Ireland Limited, the Northern Bank, Limited, the Provincial Bank of Ireland, Limited, the Royal Bank of Ireland, Limited, the Ulster Bank, Limited, Ansbacher & Company, Limited, the Commercial Banking Company, Limited, Guinness & Mahon and the National City Bank, Limited;

trustee savings bank” has the same meaning as in the Trustee Savings Banks Acts, 1863 to 1958.

Exemption of interest on certain securities.

345. —Income tax or sur-tax shall not be chargeable in respect of the interest on securities which are issued by the Minister for Finance for the purpose of being used in payment of income tax or sur-tax and such interest shall not be reckoned in computing income for the purposes of this Act.

Exemption of sweepstake profits.

346. —(1) Exemption shall be granted from tax under Schedule D in respect of the profits of any sweepstake held under the Public Hospitals Act, 1933 , which, but for this section, would have been assessable under Case I of the said Schedule D on the organisers (within the meaning of the said Public Hospitals Act, 1933 ) of such sweepstake or on the sweepstake committee appointed in pursuance of that Act for the purpose of such sweepstake by the said organisers thereof.

(2) In this section, “sweepstake” has the meaning given to it by section 1 of the Public Hospitals Act, 1933 , for the purposes of that Act.

Carrying out of voluntary health schemes—deeming not to be trade.

347. —The business of carrying out under section 4 of the Voluntary Health Insurance Act, 1957 , schemes of voluntary health insurance shall, for all the purposes of this Act in relation to the Voluntary Health Insurance Board, be deemed not to be a trade, and accordingly, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, that Board shall be exempt from income tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains arising from that business:

Provided that that Board shall be entitled to relief under section 307, as if the foregoing provisions of this section had not been enacted.

Exemption of profits of agricultural societies.

348. —(1) Any profits or gains arising to an agricultural society from an exhibition or show held for the purposes of the society shall, if they are applied solely to the purposes of the society, be exempt from income tax.

(2) In this section “agricultural society” means any society or institution established for the purpose of promoting the interests of agriculture, horticulture, live-stock breeding, or forestry.

Exemption of bodies established for promotion of athletic or amateur games or sports.

349. —Exemption shall be granted from income tax in respect of so much of the income of any body of persons established for the sole purpose of promoting athletic or amateur games or sports as is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be income which has been or will be applied to that purpose.

Exemption of profits from lotteries.

350. —Exemption from income tax shall be granted in respect of profits from a lottery to which a licence under Part IV of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 , applies.

Exemption of sewers.

351. —(1) Income tax shall not be charged in respect of a sewer vested in a local authority:

Provided that the foregoing exemption shall not extend to any rent payable or other annual payment to be made by the local authority in respect of the sewer.

(2) In this section—

sewer” means a sewer maintained by a local authority in pursuance of their statutory duties in relation to the public health;

local authority” means a public body having power under any enactment relating to the public health to construct and maintain sewers.

Exemption of air raid protection works.

352. —(1) Exemption shall be granted from tax under Schedule A in respect of any hereditament which is not let in whole or in part and, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 59 of the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939 , is not rated.

(2) Where in ascertaining under the Valuation Acts the valuation of a hereditament which is a mill, factory, or other similar premises, no regard is, pursuant to subsection (2) of section 59 of the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939 , to be had to any room or other part of such hereditament or to any structural alterations or improvements to such hereditament, the amount of any deduction to be allowed under section 65 shall be increased by an amount equal to one-sixth of the difference between the annual value of such hereditament and the annual value of such hereditament estimated on the basis that regard is to be had to (as the case may be) such room or other part or such structural alterations or improvements.

Exemption of income from scholarships.

353. —(1) Income arising from a scholarship held by a person receiving full-time instruction at a university, college, school, or other educational establishment, shall be exempt from tax and no account shall be taken of any such income in computing the amount of income for the purposes of this Act.

(2) In this section “scholarship” includes an exhibition, bursary, or any other similar educational endowment.

(3) If any question arises whether any income is income arising from a scholarship held as aforesaid, the Revenue Commissioners may consult the Minister for Education.

Exemption of children's allowances.

354. —A children's allowance under the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Acts, 1944 to 1963, or those Acts and any subsequent Act together with which those Acts may be cited, shall be exempt from tax and shall not be reckoned in computing income for the purposes of this Act.