Finance Act, 1994

Chapter II

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Amendment of Chapter III (Income Tax: Relief for Investment in Corporate Trades) of Part I of Finance Act, 1984.

16.—(1) Chapter III of Part I of the Finance Act, 1984 , is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1) of section 11—

(i) by the insertion of the following definitions after the definition of “associate” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1985 ):

“‘certifying agency’ means an industrial development agency or Bord Fáilte Éireann or An Bord Iascaigh Mhara or An Bord Tráchtála—The Irish Trade Board (as may be appropriate);

‘certifying Minister’ means the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry or the Minister for the Marine (as may be appropriate);”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “relevant trading operations” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 )—

“‘relevant trading operations’ means qualifying trading operations (other than such operations as are referred to in subparagraph (iiib) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 16 ) carried on or to be carried on by a relevant company in respect of which a certificate has been issued by a certifying agency or a certifying Minister (as may be appropriate) certifying that the agency or the Minister (as the case may be) is satisfied, on the basis of such information as is supplied to the agency or the Minister (as may be appropriate) by the company or which the agency or the Minister (as may be appropriate) may reasonably require the company to furnish, that the carrying on of such operations by the company is, or will be, a bona fide new venture which, having regard to—

(a) the potential for the creation of additional sustainable employment, and

(b) the desirability of minimising the displacement of existing employment,

may be eligible, based on guidelines agreed (as may be appropriate in the circumstances)—

(i) with the consent of the Minister for Finance, between the certifying agency and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht or the Minister for Enterprise and Employment or the Minister for the Marine or the Minister for Tourism and Trade, or

(ii) between the certifying Minister and the Minister for Finance,

to be grant-aided under a scheme of assistance administered by the certifying agency or the certifying Minister (as the case may be):

Provided that—

(I) the carrying on of such qualifying trading operations shall not be regarded as not being a bona fide new venture by reason only that they were carried on as, or as part of, a trade by another person at any time before the issue of the relevant shares in respect of which relief is claimed, and

(II) such a certificate may be issued in the case of a qualifying trading operation such as is referred to in subparagraph (iiia) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1988 ) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 16 without regard as to whether such an operation is eligible to be grant-aided, but in considering whether to issue such a certificate, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry shall have regard to such guidelines, in relation to the issue of such a certificate, as may be agreed between the said Minister and the Minister for Finance, and

(III) such a certificate shall not be issued—

(A) by Bord Fáilte Éireann where the value of the relevant company's interests in land and buildings (excluding fixtures and fittings) is or is intended to be greater than half the value of its assets as a whole, or

(B) unless the relevant company undertakes in writing to furnish the certifying agency or the certifying Minister (as may be appropriate) when requested to do so with such details in relation to the carrying on of the relevant trading operations as the agency or the Minister (as may be appropriate) may specify;”,

(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of the definition of “specified individual” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 )—

“(b) in each of the three years of assessment preceding the year of assessment immediately prior to the year of assessment in which such employment commences, was not in receipt of income chargeable to tax otherwise than under Schedule E or under Case III of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains from an office or employment held or exercised outside the State in excess of the lesser of—

(i) the aggregate of the amounts, if any, of the individual's income chargeable to tax under Schedule E and under Case III of Schedule D as aforesaid, or

(ii) £10,000,”,

(b) as respects eligible shares issued on or after the 6th day of April, 1994, in paragraph (a) of subsection (7A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 ) of section 14 , by the substitution of “£250,000” for “£150,000”, and the said paragraph (a), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section, and

(c) in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 16—

(i) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iia) in respect of a subscription for relevant shares issued on or after the 17th day of June, 1993, the rendering of such services as are mentioned in subparagraph (ii) in respect of which an employment grant would have been made or a grant or financial assistance would have been made available, as the case may be, by an industrial development agency under one of the provisions mentioned in the said subparagraph (ii) but for the fact, and only for the fact, that the industrial development agency concerned was or is precluded from making such an employment grant or making available such a grant or financial assistance, as the case may be, by virtue of the fact that a grant or financial assistance had already been made by some other person,”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iiic) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 ):

“(iiid) in respect of a subscription for eligible shares issued on or after the 11th day of April, 1994, the cultivation of mushrooms within the State,”.

(2) Subsection (1) (a) shall be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from the 17th day of June, 1993.

TABLE

(a) if, throughout the relevant period, the aggregate of all amounts subscribed for the issued share capital and the loan capital (within the meaning of subsection (5)) of the company does not exceed £250,000, or