Finance Act, 1979

Permanent health benefit schemes.

8.—(1) In this section—

“benefit” means a payment made to a person in the event of loss or diminution of income, in consequence of ill-health, under a permanent health benefit scheme;

“a permanent health benefit scheme” means any scheme, contract, policy, or other arrangement, approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of this section, which provides for periodic payments to an individual in the event of loss or diminution of income in consequence of ill-health;

“contribution”, in relation to a permanent health benefit scheme, means any premium paid or other periodic payment made to the scheme in consideration of the right to benefit under it, being a premium or payment which bears a reasonable relationship to the benefits secured by it.

(2) (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, if an individual makes a claim in that behalf in the manner prescribed by the Income Tax Acts, makes a return in the prescribed form of his total income for a year of assessment and proves that in that year of assessment he made a contribution or contributions to a bona fide permanent health benefit scheme or schemes, he shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction of so much of the contributions as does not exceed 10 per cent. of his total income for that year of assessment made from his total income.

(b) All such provisions of the Income Tax Acts as apply in relation to every deduction specified in sections 138 to 143 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to a deduction under this subsection.

(3) In a case where the amount of a contribution made by an employer to a permanent health benefit scheme is charged to income tax under Chapter III of Part V of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , as a perquisite of the office or employment of a director or employee, that amount shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection (2), to be a contribution made by the director or employee to the scheme in the year in respect of which it is so charged to income tax.

(4) (a) Any benefit received by a person under a permanent health benefit scheme, whether as of right or not, shall be deemed to be—

(i) profits or gains arising or accruing from an employment, and—

(ii) emoluments within the meaning of Chapter IV of Part V of the Income Tax Act, 1967 .

(b) Tax under Schedule E shall be charged on every person, to whom any benefit referred to in paragraph (a) is paid, in respect of all such benefits paid to him and the tax so chargeable shall be computed under section 110 (1) of the said Income Tax Act, 1967 .

(5) This section shall have effect in relation to income tax for the year 1980-81 and subsequent years of assessment.