Wealth Tax Act, 1975

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Exemption of certain property.

7.—(1) Tax shall not be payable in respect of the following property and such property shall not be taxable wealth—

(a) (i) a dwelling house, or part of a dwelling-house, to which, on the relevant valuation date, an individual is beneficially entitled in possession and which is occupied by him as his only or principal residence, and

(ii) land which that individual has for his own occupation and enjoyment with that residence, as its garden or grounds, up to an area (exclusive of the site of the dwelling-house) of one acre:

Provided that—

(I) in the case of a dwelling-house, or part of a dwelling-house, part of which is used mainly for the purposes of a trade, business, profession or vocation or is let, this paragraph shall not apply to the part used for those purposes or which is so let, and

(II) in a case where more than one dwelling-house falls to be included in the taxable wealth of an individual under section 4, this paragraph shall apply to one dwelling-house only;

(b) furniture and household effects, being the normal contents of a dwelling-house, or part of a dwelling-house, to which paragraph (a) applies;

(c) livestock to which a person who is a farmer within the meaning of section 10 is beneficially entitled in possession;

(d) bloodstock;

(e) the right to receive any benefit or any annuity or periodic payment—

(i) under any scheme for the provision of superannuation benefits on retirement established by or under any enactment or instrument made under any enactment;

(ii) under any sponsored superannuation scheme within the meaning of section 235 (9) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , or under a trust scheme or part of a trust scheme approved by the Commissioners under section 235 or 235A of that Act;

(iii) under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1974;

(iv) under a contract approved by the Commissioners for the purposes of granting relief for the purposes of section 236 of the Income Tax Act , 1967, in respect of the premiums payable in respect thereof;

(v) which is disregarded as income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts under the provisions of section 19 of the Finance Act, 1973 ;

(f) property of schemes referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (e);

(g) property that is comprised in a discretionary trust, or is in the beneficial ownership of a private non-trading company, being a trust or company that was established or incorporated exclusively for charitable purposes or for the purpose of holding property of a scheme referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (e) or property the subject of a trust created under a registered unit trust scheme within the meaning of the Unit Trusts Act, 1972 and is, on the relevant valuation date, carried on exclusively for those purposes or that purpose;

(h) any security which falls to be included in the taxable wealth of an assessable person on the relevant valuation date in a case where any property whatsoever of the person situate outside the State would not be chargeable to tax on that date; in this paragraph “security” means any security, stock, debenture, debenture stock, certificate of charge or other form of security issued, whether before or after the passing of this Act, with a condition that it be exempt from taxation when in the beneficial ownership of persons neither domiciled nor ordinarily resident in the State and includes units of a unit trust scheme within the meaning of section 60 of the Finance Act, 1973 , and any stock or other form of security to which section 92 of that Act applies;

(i) pictures, prints, books, manuscripts, works of art, jewellery, scientific collections or other things not held for the purposes of trading—

(i) which, on a claim being made to the Commissioners, appear to them to be of national, scientific, historic or artistic interest,

(ii) which are kept permanently in the State except for such temporary absences outside the State as are approved of by the Commissioners, and

(iii) in respect of which reasonable facilities for viewing are allowed to members of the public or to recognised bodies or to associations of persons;

(j) gardens situate in the State—

(i) which, on a claim being made to the Commissioners, appear to them to be of national, scientific, historic or artistic interest, and

(ii) in respect of which reasonable facilities for viewing are allowed to members of the public or to recognised bodies or to associations of persons;

(k) trees or underwood growing on land in the State and in the same beneficial ownership as the land;

(l) shares in a private non-trading company where, in accordance with section 6, all the property, wheresoever situate, to which the company is beneficially entitled in possession is included in the taxable wealth of that company on the relevant valuation date or would be so included but for the provisions of this section.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), such particulars and information in relation to the property referred to in that subsection shall be furnished to the Commissioners as would be required if such property formed part of the taxable wealth of the assessable person.