Finance Act, 1956

Exemption of certain interest.

3.—(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 the Income Tax Acts if or in so far as the said sums do not exceed twenty-five pounds, but the provisions of the Income Tax Acts 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) Subsection (1) of this section shall have effect subject to the proviso that where an application under Rule 17 of the General Rules applicable to Schedules A, B, C, D and E of the Income Tax Act, 1918, or under section 8 of that Act is made for the year of assessment by a married man or by his wife, and the aggregate of the said sums which are included, or which would but for this section be included, in the total incomes of the spouses exceeds twenty-five pounds, the amount of the said sums to be disregarded for that year in the case of each spouse shall be the amount which bears the same proportion to twenty-five pounds as the amount of the said sums which are included, or which would but for this section be included, in the total income of that spouse bears to the aggregate of the said sums which are included, or which would but for this section be included, in the total incomes of the spouses; and that, in the absence of any such application as aforesaid, a like apportionment shall, where necessary, be made.

(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 10 of the Finance Act, 1929 (No. 32 of 1929).

(4) In this section—

“total income” means total income from all sources as estimated in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts;

“the commercial banks” means the Bank of Ireland, the Hibernian Bank, Limited, the Munster and Leinster Bank, Limited, the National Bank, 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 1920.