Finance Act, 1992

Relief to individuals on loans applied in acquiring interest in companies.

14.—(1) In this section—

“loan” means a loan applied for any of the purposes specified in the principal section;

“quoted company” means a company whose shares, or any class of whose shares—

(a) are listed in the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange or any other stock exchange, or

(b) are dealt in on the smaller companies market, the unlisted securities market or the exploration securities market of the Irish Stock Exchange or on any similar or corresponding market of any other stock exchange;

“the principal section” means section 34 of the Finance Act, 1974 , as amended by section 8 of the Finance Act, 1978 ;

“the specified date”, in relation to a loan, means—

(a) (i) in a case where the loan was applied on or before the 5th day of April, 1989, the 6th day of April, 1992,

(ii) in a case where the loan was applied on or after the 6th day of April, 1989, but on or before the 5th day of April, 1990, the 6th day of April, 1993, and

(iii) in a case where the loan was applied on or after the 6th day of April, 1990, the 6th day of April, 1994,

or

(b) if later, the 6th day of April in the second year of assessment next after the year of assessment in which the company, part of whose ordinary share capital was acquired or, as the case may be, to which the money was lent, becomes a quoted company.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), as respects the year of assessment 1992-93 and subsequent years of assessment, entitlement to relief under the principal section in respect of interest paid on a loan shall, if the company, part of whose ordinary share capital was acquired or, as the case may be, to which the money was lent, is, at the specified date in relation to the loan, a quoted company, be determined subject to the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) as respects the year of assessment commencing with the said specified date, relief shall not be given in respect of the excess of the amount, or of the aggregate amount, of the interest over 70 per cent. of the amount, or of the aggregate amount, of the interest in respect of which, apart from this paragraph, relief would otherwise have been given under the principal section,

(b) as respects the immediately next following year of assessment, relief shall not be given in respect of the excess of the amount, or of the aggregate amount, of the interest over 40 per cent. of the amount, or of the aggregate amount, of the interest in respect of which, apart from this paragraph, relief would otherwise have been given under the principal section, and

(c) as respects any subsequent year of assessment, no relief shall be given under the principal section.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) or the principal section, the principal section shall not apply or have effect in relation to any payment of interest on a loan applied on or after the 29th day of January, 1992, if, at the time the loan is applied, the company, part of whose ordinary share capital was or is acquired or, as the case may be, to which the money was or is lent, is a quoted company.

(4) The principal section is hereby amended by the addition after subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(3) Relief shall not be given in respect of any payment of interest by an individual on a loan applied on or after the 24th day of April, 1992, for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) unless the loan is applied for bona fide commercial purposes and not as part of a scheme or arrangement the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of tax.”.