Finance Act 2005

Number 5 of 2005

FINANCE ACT 2005

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter 1

Interpretation

Chapter 2

Income Tax

Chapter 3

PAYE: Electronic and Telephone Communications

Chapter 4

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter 5

Corporation Tax

Chapter 6

Capital Gains Tax

PART 2

Excise

Chapter 1

Alcohol Products Tax

Chapter 2

Mineral Oil Tax

Chapter 3

Tobacco Products Tax

Chapter 4

Miscellaneous Excise and Customs

PART 3

Value-Added Tax

PART 4

Stamp Duties

PART 5

Capital Acquisitions Tax

PART 6

Miscellaneous

SCHEDULE 1

Amendments Consequential on Changes in Personal Tax Credits

SCHEDULE 2

Rates of Tobacco Products Tax

SCHEDULE 3

Repeals and Revocations Relating to Excise Duty on Tobacco Products

SCHEDULE 4

Repeals Relating to Excise Law

SCHEDULE 5

Amendment of Provisions Consequential on Section 145

SCHEDULE 6

Miscellaneous Technical Amendments in Relation to Tax

Acts Referred to

Number 5 of 2005

FINANCE ACT 2005

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMPOSITION, REPEAL, REMISSION, ALTERATION AND REGULATION OF TAXATION, OF STAMP DUTIES AND OF DUTIES RELATING TO EXCISE AND OTHERWISE TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION IN CONNECTION WITH FINANCE INCLUDING THE REGULATION OF CUSTOMS.

[25th March, 2005]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART 1

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Chapter 1

Interpretation

Interpretation (Part 1).

1.—In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .

Chapter 2

Income Tax

Amendment of section 15 (rate of charge) of Principal Act.

2.—As respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment, section 15 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting “€20,400” for “€19,000” (inserted by the Finance Act 2002 ) in subsection (3), and

(b) by substituting the following Table for the Table (as so inserted) to that section:

“TABLE

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

”.

Personal tax credits.

3.—(1) Where an individual is entitled under a provision of the Principal Act mentioned in column (1) of the Table to this subsection to have the income tax to be charged on the individual, other than in accordance with the provisions of section 16(2) of the Principal Act, reduced for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment and the amount of the reduction would, but for this section, be an amount which is the lesser of—

(a) the amount specified in column (2) of that Table, and

(b) the amount which reduces that liability to nil,

the amount of the reduction in accordance with paragraph (a) shall be the amount of the tax credit specified in column (3) of the Table.

TABLE

(2) Section 3 (as amended by the Finance Act 2004 ) of the Finance Act 2002 shall have effect subject to the provisions of this section.

(3) Schedule (1) shall apply for the purposes of supplementing subsection (1).

Age exemption.

4.—As respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment, section 188 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (2), by substituting “€33,000” for “€31,000” (inserted by the Finance Act 2004 ) and “€16,500” for “€15,500” (as so inserted).

Amendment of section 126 (tax treatment of certain benefits payable under Social Welfare Acts) of Principal Act.

5.—Section 126 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (b) (inserted by the Finance Act 2003 ) of subsection (8):

“(b) Notwithstanding subsection (3) and the Finance Act 1992 (Commencement of Section 15) (Unemployment Benefit and Pay-Related Benefit) Order 1994 ( S.I. No. 19 of 1994 ), subsection (3)(b) shall not apply in relation to unemployment benefit paid or payable, in the period commencing on 6 April 1997 and ending on 31 December 2006, to a person employed in short-time employment.”.

Amendment of section 473 (allowance for rent paid by certain tenants) of Principal Act.

6.—Section 473 of the Principal Act is amended as respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment, by the substitution in subsection (1) of the following definition for the definition of “specified limit” (inserted by the Finance Act 2001 ):

“ ‘specified limit’, in relation to an individual for a year of assessment, means—

(a) in the case of—

(i) a married person assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017, or

(ii) a widowed person,

€3,000; but, if at any time during the year of assessment the individual was of the age of 55 years or over, ‘specified limit’ means €6,000, and

(b) in any other case, €1,500; but, if at any time during the year of assessment the individual was of the age of 55 years or over, ‘specified limit’ means €3,000;”.

Amendment of section 116 (interpretation (Chapter 3)) of Principal Act.

7.—Section 116 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after the definition of “employment” in subsection (1):

“ ‘premises’ includes lands;”.

Amendment of section 118 (benefits in kind: general charging provision) of Principal Act.

8.—Section 118 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (5A):

“(5A) (a) Subsection (1) shall not apply to expense incurred by the body corporate in or in connection with the provision for a director or employee of a monthly or annual bus, railway or ferry travel pass issued by or on behalf of one or more approved transport providers.

(b) In this subsection—

‘approved transport provider’ means—

(a) Córas Iompair Éireann or any of its subsidiaries,

(b) a holder of a passenger licence granted under section 7 of the Road Transport Act 1932 ,

(c) a person who provides a passenger transport service under an arrangement entered into with Córas Iompair Éireann in accordance with section 13 (1) of the Transport Act 1950 ,

(d) the Railway Procurement Agency or any of its subsidiaries,

(e) a person who has entered into an arrangement with the Railway Procurement Agency, in accordance with section 43 (6) of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 to operate a railway, or

(f) a person who provides a ferry service within the State, operating a vessel which holds a current valid—

(i) passenger ship safety certificate,

(ii) passenger boat licence, or

(iii) high-speed craft safety certificate,

issued by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;

‘railway pass’ includes a pass issued by a railway designated as a light railway or as a metro in a railway order made under section 43 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 .”.

Preferential loans.

9.—Section 122 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by substituting the following for the definition of “employee”:

“ ‘employee’, in relation to an employer, means an individual employed by the employer in an employment—

(a) to which Chapter 3 of this Part applies, or

(b) the profits or gains of which are chargeable to tax under Case III of Schedule D,

including, in a case where the employer is a body corporate, a director (within the meaning of that Chapter) of the body corporate;”,

and

(ii) in the definition of “preferential loan” by substituting “means, in relation to an individual, a loan, in respect of which no interest is payable or interest is payable at a preferential rate, made directly or indirectly to the individual” for “means a loan, in respect of which no interest is payable or interest is payable at a preferential rate, made directly or indirectly to an individual”,

and

(b) by substituting the following for subsection (2):

“(2) Where, for the whole or part of a year of assessment, there is outstanding, in relation to an individual, a preferential loan, the individual shall, subject to subsection (4), be treated for the purposes of section 112 or a charge to tax under Case III of Schedule D, as having received in that year of assessment, as a perquisite of the office or employment with the employer who made the loan, a sum equal to—

(a) if no interest is payable on the preferential loan or loans, the amount of interest which would have been payable in that year, if interest had been payable on the loan or loans at the specified rate, or

(b) if interest is paid or payable at a preferential rate or rates, the difference between the aggregate amount of interest paid or payable in that year and the amount of interest which would have been payable in that year, if interest had been payable on the loan or loans at the specified rate,

and the individual or, in the case of an individual who is a wife whose husband is chargeable to tax for the year of assessment in accordance with the provisions of section 1017, the spouse of the individual, shall be charged to tax accordingly.”.

Costs and expenses in respect of personal security assets and services.

10.—The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 118:

“118A.—(1) In this section—

‘asset’ includes equipment or a structure, but not any mode of transport or a dwelling or grounds appurtenant to a dwelling;

‘service’ does not include a dwelling or grounds appurtenant to a dwelling.

(2) This section applies where there is a credible and serious threat to a director's or an employee's personal physical security, which arises wholly or mainly because of the director's or employee's office or employment.

(3) This section applies to expense incurred by the body corporate, or incurred by a director or employee and reimbursed to the director or employee by the body corporate—

(a) in—

(i) the provision or use of, or

(ii) expenses connected with,

an asset or service for the improvement of personal security which is provided for or used by the director or employee to meet the threat to his or her personal physical security, and

(b) with the sole object of meeting that threat.

(4) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), where this section applies, section 118(1) shall not apply to an expense to which this section applies.

(5) Where the body corporate intends the asset to be used solely to improve personal physical security, any use of the asset incidental to that purpose shall be ignored.

(6) Where the body corporate intends the asset to be used only partly to improve personal physical security, subsection (4) shall apply only to that part of the expense incurred in relation to the asset which is attributable to the intended use for that purpose.

(7) Subsection (4) shall only apply to an expense incurred in relation to a service referred to in subsection (3) where the benefit resulting to the director or employee consists wholly or mainly of an improvement of his or her personal physical security.

(8) In determining whether or not this section applies in relation to an asset or service, the fact that—

(a) the asset becomes fixed to land (whether the land constitutes a dwelling or otherwise), or

(b) the director or employee is, or becomes, entitled—

(i) to the property in the asset, or

(ii) if the asset is a fixture, to any estate or interest in the land concerned,

or

(c) the asset or the service improves the personal physical security of a member of the director's or employee's family or household, as well as that of the director or employee,

does not exclude the expense incurred by the body corporate from coming within subsection (4).”.

Foster care payments etc.

11.—The Principal Act is amended in Chapter 1 of Part 7 by inserting the following after section 192A (inserted by the Finance Act 2004 ):

“192B.—(1) In this section—

‘carer’ means an individual who is or was a foster parent or relative or who takes care of an individual on behalf of the Health Service Executive;

‘foster parent’ has the meaning assigned to it in the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995 ( S.I. No. 260 of 1995 );

‘relative’ has the meaning assigned to it in the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995 ( S.I. No. 261 of 1995 ).

(2) This section applies to payments made—

(a) to a carer by the Health Service Executive in accordance with—

(i) article 14 of the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995, or

(ii) article 14 of the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995,

(b) at the discretion of the Health Service Executive to a carer in respect of an individual—

(i) who had been in the care of a carer until attaining the age of 18 years,

(ii) in respect of whom a payment referred to in paragraph (a) had been paid until the individual attained the age of 18 years,

(iii) who since attaining the age of 18 years continues to reside with a carer, and

(iv) who has not attained the age of 21 years or where the person has attained such age, suffers from a disability or is in receipt of full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment and such disability or instruction commenced before the person attained the age of 21 years,

or

(c) in accordance with the law of any other Member State of the European Communities which corresponds to the payments referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

(3) Payments to which this section applies are exempt from income tax and shall not be taken into account in computing total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”.

State employees: foreign service allowances.

12.—The Principal Act is amended in Chapter 1 of Part 7 by inserting the following section after section 196:

“196A.—(1) Where any allowance to, or emoluments of, an officer of the State are certified by the Minister for Finance, having consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or with such Minister of the Government as the Minister for Finance considers appropriate in the circumstances, to represent compensation for the extra cost of having to live outside the State in order to perform his or her duties, that allowance, or those emoluments, shall be disregarded as income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(2) In this section—

‘emoluments’ means emoluments to which section 985A applies;

‘officer of the State’ means—

(a) a civil servant within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 ,

(b) a member of the Garda Síochána, or

(c) a member of the Permanent Defence Force.

(3) This section is deemed to have applied as on and from 1 January 2005.”.

Credit in respect of tax deducted from emoluments of certain directors.

13.—Chapter 4 of Part 42 of the Principal Act is, as respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment, amended by inserting the following after section 997:

“997A.—(1) (a) In this section—

‘control’ has the same meaning as in section 432;

‘ordinary share capital’, in relation to a company, means all the issued share capital (by whatever name called) of the company.

 (b) For the purposes of this section—

(i) a person shall have a material interest in a company if the person, either on the person's own or with any one or more connected persons, or if any person connected with the person with or without any such other connected persons, is the beneficial owner of, or is able, directly or through the medium of other companies or by any other indirect means, to control, more than 15 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the company, and

(ii) the question of whether a person is connected with another person shall be determined in accordance with section 10.

(2) This section applies to a person to who, in relation to a company (hereafter in this section referred to as ‘the company’), has a material interest in the company.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts or the regulations made under this Chapter, no credit for tax deducted from the emoluments paid by the company to a person to whom this section applies shall be given in any assessment raised on the person or in any statement of liability sent to the person under Regulation 37 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2001 ) unless there is documentary evidence to show that the tax deducted has been remitted by the company to the Collector-General in accordance with the provisions of those regulations.

(4) Where the company remits tax to the Collector-General which has been deducted from emoluments paid by the company, the tax remitted shall be treated as having been deducted from emoluments paid to persons other than persons to whom this section applies in priority to tax deducted from persons to whom this section applies.

(5) Where, in accordance with subsection (4), tax remitted to the Collector-General by the company is to be treated as having been deducted from emoluments paid by the company to persons to whom this section applies, the tax to be so treated shall, if there is more than one such person, be treated as having been deducted from the emoluments paid to each such person in the same proportion as the emoluments paid to the person bears to the aggregate amount of emoluments paid by the company to all such persons.”.

Amendment of section 950 (interpretation (Part 41)) of Principal Act.

14.—As respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment, section 950 of the Principal Act is amended, in the definition of “chargeable person” in subsection (1), by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) whose only source or sources of income for the chargeable period is or are sources the income from which consists of emoluments to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 applies, but for this purpose a person who, in addition to such source or sources of income, has another source or other sources of income shall be deemed for the chargeable period to be a person whose only source or sources of income for the chargeable period is or are sources the income from which consists of emoluments to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 applies if the income from that other source or those other sources is taken into account in determining the amount of his or her tax credits and standard rate cut-off point for the chargeable period applicable to those emoluments, and, for the purposes of deciding whether such income should be so taken into account, the Revenue Commissioners may have regard to the amount for that, or any previous, chargeable period of the income of the person from that other source or those other sources before deductions, losses, allowances and other reliefs,”.

Amendment of Chapter 1 (payments in respect of professional services by certain persons) of Part 18 of, and Schedule 13 to, Principal Act.

15.—(1) Chapter 1 of Part 18 of the Principal Act is amended in section 520(1) in the definition of “relevant payment”—

(a) in paragraph (ii) by substituting “section,” for “section, and”,

(b) in paragraph (iii) by substituting “payment, and” for “payment;”, and

(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (iii):

“(iv) a payment by one accountable person to—

(I) another accountable person being a person whose income is exempt from corporation tax or is disregarded for the purposes of the Tax Acts, or

(II) a body which has been granted an exemption from tax for the purposes of section 207;”.

(2) Schedule 13 to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting “13. Public Appointments Service.” for paragraph 13,

(b) by substituting “35. Dublin Airport Authority public limited company.” for paragraph 35,

(c) by deleting paragraph 87,

(d) by inserting the following after paragraph 143 (inserted by the Finance Act 2004 ):

“144. National Treatment Purchase Fund Board.

145. The Mental Health Commission.

146. Crisis Pregnancy Agency.

147. Commission on Electronic Voting.

148. Irish Medicines Board.

149. National Educational Welfare Board.

150. Oifig Choimisinéir na dTeangacha Oifigiúla.

151. The Health Service Executive.

152. Commission for Public Service Appointments.

153. Commission for Taxi Regulation.”.

(3) (a) Subsection (1) comes into operation with effect as on and from the passing of this Act.

(b) Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) shall be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from 19 October 2004.

(c) Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) shall be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from 1 October 2004.

(d) Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) shall be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from 1 January 2005.

(e) Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) comes into operation on 1 May 2005.

Amendment of section 128 (tax treatment of directors of companies and employees granted rights to acquire shares or other assets) of Principal Act.

16.—(1) Section 128 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by inserting “and shall be so chargeable notwithstanding that he or she was not resident in the State on the date on which the right was obtained” after “in accordance with this section”.

(2) (a) Subsection (1) applies as respects a right (within the meaning of section 128 of the Principal Act) obtained on or after the coming into operation of this section.

(b) This section comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

Restriction of deductions for employee benefit contributions.

17.—Chapter 6 of Part 4 of the Principal Act is, with effect from 3 February 2005, amended by inserting the following section after section 81:

“81A.—(1) (a) In this section—

‘accident benefit scheme’ means an employee benefit scheme under which benefits may be provided only by reason of a person's disablement, or death, caused by an accident occuring during the person's service as an employee of the employer;

‘chargeable period’ has the same meaning as in section 321;

‘employee benefit scheme’ means a trust, scheme or other arrangement for the benefit of persons who are employees of an employer;

‘qualifying expenses’, in relation to a third party and an employee benefit scheme, does not include expenses that, if incurred by the employer, would not be allowed as a deduction in calculating the profits or gains of the employer to be charged to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D but, subject to the foregoing, includes any expenses of the third party (apart from the provision of benefits to employees of the employer) incurred in the operation of the employee benefit scheme.

(b) For the purposes of this section—

(i) an employer makes an employee benefit contribution if—

(I) the employer pays money or transfers an asset to another person (referred to in this section as the ‘third party’), and

(II) the third party is entitled or required, under the provisions of an employee benefit scheme, to retain or use the money or asset for or in connection with the provision of benefits to employees of the employer,

(ii) qualifying benefits are provided where there is a payment of money or a transfer of assets, otherwise than by way of a loan, and the recipient or a person other than the recipient is or would, if resident, ordinarily resident and domiciled in the State, be chargeable to income tax in respect of the provision of such benefits, and

(iii) a reference to a person's employee includes a reference to the holder of an office under that person.

(2) (a) This section applies where—

(i) a calculation is made of the amount of a person's profits or gains to be charged to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D for a chargeable period beginning on or after 3 February 2005, and

(ii) a deduction would, but for this section, be allowed by the Tax Acts for that period in respect of employee benefit contributions made, or to be made, by that person (referred to in this section as the ‘employer’).

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), this section does not apply in respect of a deduction referred to in subsection (7).

(3) (a) A deduction in respect of employee benefit contributions referred to in subsection (2)(a) shall be allowed only to the extent that, during the chargeable period in question or within 9 months from the end of it—

(i) qualifying benefits are provided out of the contributions, or

(ii) qualifying expenses are paid out of the contributions.

(b)   (i) For the purposes of paragraph (a), any qualifying benefits provided or qualifying expenses paid by the third party after the receipt by the third party of employee benefit contributions shall be regarded as being provided or paid out of those contributions, up to the total amount of the contributions as reduced by the amount of any benefits or expenses previously provided or paid as referred to in paragraph (a).

(ii) In the application of this paragraph, no account shall be taken of any other amount received or paid by the third party.

(4) (a) An amount which is disallowed under subsection (3) shall be allowed as a deduction for a subsequent chargeable period to the extent that qualifying benefits are provided out of the employee benefit contributions in question before the end of that subsequent chargeable period.

(b)   (i) For the purposes of paragraph (a), any qualifying benefits provided by the third party after the receipt by the third party of employee benefit contributions shall be regarded as being provided out of those contributions, up to the total amount of the contributions as reduced by the amount of any benefits or expenses previously provided or paid as referred to in subsection (3)(a) or paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(ii) In the application of this paragraph, no account shall be taken of any other amount received or paid by the third party.

(5) (a) This subsection applies where the provision of a qualifying benefit takes the form of the transfer of an asset.

(b) The amount provided shall be taken for the purposes of this section to be the total of—

(i)   (I) the amount, if any, expended on the asset by the third party, or

(II) where the asset consists of new shares in the third party, or rights in respect of such shares, issued by the third party, the market value of those shares or rights, as the case may be, at the time of the transfer,

and

(ii) in a case in which the asset was transferred to the third party by the employer, the amount of the deduction that would be allowed as referred to in subsection (2) in respect of the transfer.

(c) Where the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (b) is greater than the amount (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘second-mentioned amount’) in respect of which an employee is chargeable to income tax in respect of the transfer, the deduction to be allowed in accordance with subsection (3) or (4) shall not exceed the second-mentioned amount.

(6) In any case where the calculation referred to in subsection (2)(a) is made before the end of the 9 month period mentioned in subsection (3)—

(a) for the purposes of making the calculation, subsection (3) shall be construed as if the reference to that 9 month period were a reference to the period ending at the time when the calculation is made, and

(b) after the end of the 9 month period the calculation shall if necessary be adjusted to take account of any benefits provided, expenses paid or contributions made within that period but after the time of the calculation.

(7) This section does not apply in relation to any deduction that is allowable—

(a) in respect of anything given as consideration for goods or services provided in the course of a trade or profession,

(b) in respect of contributions under an accident benefit scheme,

(c) under Part 17, or

(d) under Part 30.”.

Amendment of section 130 (matters to be treated as distributions) of Principal Act.

18.—(1) Section 130 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting “section 131;” for “section 131.” in subsection (2)(e),

(b) by inserting the following after paragraph (e) of subsection (2):

“(f) any qualifying amount (within the meaning of subsection (2C)) paid to an individual who at the time that amount is paid—

(i) is a beneficiary under the terms of a trust deed of an employee share ownership trust approved of by the Revenue Commissioners under Schedule 12 and for which approval has not been withdrawn and which trust deed contains provision for the transfer of securities to the trustees of a scheme approved of by the Revenue Commissioners under Schedule 11 and for which approval has not been withdrawn, and

(ii) would be eligible to have securities appropriated to him or her, had such securities been available for appropriation, under the scheme referred to in subparagraph (i).”,

and

(c) by inserting the following after subsection (2B):

“(2C) Notwithstanding section 519(6) and paragraph 13(4) of Schedule 12, ‘qualifying amount’ means an amount paid solely out of income consisting of dividends received in a chargeable period (within the meaning of section 321) in respect of securities (within the meaning of Schedule 12) held by the trustees of the employee share ownership trust referred to in subsection (2)(f)(i), but only to the extent that such income exceeds the aggregate of—

(a) any sum or sums spent to meet expenses of the trust,

(b) any interest paid on sums borrowed by the trust,

(c) any sum or sums paid to the personal representatives of a deceased person who was a beneficiary under the terms of the trust deed,

(d) any amount spent on the repayment of sums borrowed including any amount capable of being so spent, having regard to the conditions referred to in paragraph 11(2B)(d) or 11A(5)(d) of Schedule 12, and

(e) any amount spent on the acquisition of securities (within the meaning of Schedule 12) including any amount capable, at any particular time, of being so spent on such securities at their market value (within the meaning of section 548) at that time,

in the chargeable period.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 3 February 2005.

Reliefs in respect of income tax charged on payments on retirement.

19.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 201—

(i) by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where a payment is not chargeable to tax under section 123 by virtue of subsection (2)(a), the person by whom the payment was made shall deliver to the inspector, not later than 46 days after the end of the year of assessment in which the payment was made, the following particulars—

(a) the name and address of the person to whom the payment was made,

(b) the personal public service number (within the meaning of section 223 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 ) of the person who received the payment,

(c) the amount of the payment, and

(d) the basis on which the payment is not chargeable to tax under section 123, indicating, in the case of a payment made on account of injury or disability, the extent of the injury or disability, as the case may be.”,

and

(ii) by substituting, in subsection (6), “4 years” for “6 years”,

and

(b) in Schedule 3 by substituting, in the formula in paragraph 10, “3 years” for “5 years” in the construction of “T” and “3 years” for “5 years” in the construction of “I”.

(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects payments made on or after the passing of this Act.

(b) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment.

Tax rate applicable to certain deposit interest received by individuals.

20.—(1) Part 8 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following Chapter after Chapter 6:

(2) This section applies for the year of assessment 2005 and subsequent years of assessment.

Retirement benefits.

21.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in Chapter 1 of Part 30—

(i) in section 770(1)—

(I) by substituting the following for the definition of “administrator”:

“ ‘administrator’, in relation to a retirement benefits scheme, means the person or persons, established in a Member State of the European Communities, having the management of the scheme, and references to the administrator of a scheme shall be deemed to include the person mentioned in section 772(2)(c)(ii);”,

(II) by inserting the following after the definition of “final remuneration”:

“ ‘overseas pension scheme’ means a retirement benefits scheme, other than a state social security scheme, which is—

(a) operated or managed by an Institution for Occupational Retirement Provision as defined by Article 6(a) of Directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 June 2003¹ , and

(b) established in a Member State of the European Communities, other than the State, which has given effect to that Directive in its national law;”,

(III) by inserting the following after the definition of “relevant date”:

“ ‘retirement benefits scheme’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 771;”,

and

(IV) by inserting the following after the definition of “service”:

“ ‘state social security scheme’ means a system of mandatory protection put in place by the Government of a country or territory, other than the State, to provide a minimum level of retirement income or other benefits, the level of which is determined by that Government;”,

(ii) in section 771(2) by inserting “contract,” after “References in this Chapter to a scheme include references to a”,

(iii) in section 772(2) by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) that in relation to the discharge of all duties and obligations imposed on the administrator of a scheme by this Chapter—

(i) the administrator of an overseas pension scheme has entered into a contract with the Revenue Commissioners enforceable in a Member State of the European Communities in relation to the discharge of those duties and obligations and in entering into such a contract the parties to the contract have acknowledged and agreed in writing that—

(I) it is governed solely by the laws of the State, and

(II) that the courts of the State have exclusive jurisdiction in determining any dispute arising under it,

or

(ii) there is a person resident in the State, appointed by the administrator, who will be responsible for the discharge of all of those duties and obligations and the administrator shall notify the Revenue Commissioners of the appointment of that person and the identity of that person;”,

(iv) in section 774 by substituting the following for subsection (1):

“(1) This section shall apply as respects—

(a) any approved scheme shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be established under irrevocable trusts,

(b) any approved scheme which is an overseas pension scheme, or

(c) any other approved scheme as respects which the Revenue Commissioners, having regard to any special circumstance, direct that this section shall apply,

and any scheme which is for the time being within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is in this Chapter referred to as an ‘exempt approved scheme’.”,

and

(v) in section 779 by substituting the following for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to subsection (2), pensions paid under any scheme, including an overseas pension scheme, which is approved or is being considered for approval under this Chapter shall, notwithstanding anything in section 18 or 19, be charged to tax under Schedule E, and Chapter 4 of Part 42 shall apply accordingly.”,

(b) in Chapter 2 of Part 30—

(i) in section 784—

(I) by substituting the following for subsection (2)(a)(i):

“(i) that it is made by the individual with a person lawfully carrying on the business of granting annuities on human life, and, where that person—

(I) is not resident in the State, or

(II) is not trading in the State through a fixed place of business,

that person is an insurance undertaking authorised to transact insurance business in the State under Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002¹ ,”,

(II) in subsection (2B)(a) by substituting “shall, notwithstanding anything in section 18 or 19,” for “shall” where it first occurs, and

(III) by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(4A) At any time when the person referred to in subsection (2)(a)(i) or in section 785(1)—

(a) is not resident in the State, or

(b) is not trading in the State through a fixed place of business,

the person shall, in relation to the discharge of all duties and obligations imposed by this section or, as the case may be, by section 785—

(i) enter into a contract with the Revenue Commissioners enforceable in a Member State of the European Communities in relation to the discharge of those duties and obligations and in entering into such a contract the parties to the contract shall acknowledge and agree in writing that—

(I) it is governed solely by the laws of the State, and

(II) that the courts of the State shall have exclusive jurisdiction in determining any dispute arising under it,

or

(ii) ensure that there is a person resident in the State (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘appointed person’), appointed by the person, to be responsible for the discharge of those duties and obligations and the person shall notify the Revenue Commissioners of the appointment of the appointed person and the identity of the appointed person.

(4B) The Revenue Commissioners may by notice in writing require the person to whom premiums are payable under any contract for the time being approved under this section or under section 785, or the appointed person referred to in subsection (4A)(ii), as the case may be, to provide, within 30 days of the date of such notice, such information and particulars as may be specified in the notice as they may reasonably require for the purposes of this Chapter, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such information and particulars may include—

(a) the name, address and PPS Number (within the meaning of section 787A(1)) of the individual with whom the contract has been made,

(b) the name, address and PPS Number (within that meaning) of the individual or individuals to whom any payment of an annuity in respect of the contract has been made, and

(c) the amount of the annuity payments referred to in paragraph (b).”,

(ii) in section 784A—

(I) in subsection (3)(a) by substituting “shall, notwithstanding anything in section 18 or 19,” for “shall” where it first occurs,

(II) in subsection (7) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) At any time when the qualifying fund manager—

(i) is not resident in the State, or

(ii) is not trading in the State through a fixed place of business,

the qualifying fund manager shall, in relation to the discharge of all duties and obligations relating to approved retirement funds which are imposed on the qualifying fund manager by virtue of this Chapter—

(I) enter into a contract with the Revenue Commissioners enforceable in a Member State of the European Communities in relation to the discharge of those duties and obligations and in entering into such a contract the parties to the contract shall acknowledge and agree in writing that—

(A) it shall be governed solely by the laws of the State, and

(B) that the courts of the State shall have exclusive jurisdiction in determining any dispute arising under it,

or

(II) ensure that there is a person resident in the State, appointed by the qualifying fund manager, who will be responsible for the discharge of all of those duties and obligations and shall notify the Revenue Commissioners of the appointment of that person and the identity of that person.”,

and

(III) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(9) The Revenue Commissioners may by notice in writing require a qualifying fund manager or the person appointed under subsection (7)(a)(II), as the case may be, to provide within 30 days of the date of such notice, such information and particulars as may be specified in the notice as they may reasonably require for the purposes of this Chapter, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such information and particulars may include—

(a) the name, address and tax reference number of the individual in whose name the approved retirement fund is or was held,

(b) the name, address and tax reference number of any individual to whom any distribution has been made, and

(c) the amount of any distributions referred to in paragraph (b).”,

(iii) in section 784C(4)(a) by substituting “is in receipt of” for “is entitled to”, and

(iv) in section 785 by inserting the following after subsection (1):

“(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1), the reference in subsection (1) to a person lawfully carrying on in the State the business of granting annuities on human life shall include a reference to an insurance undertaking, authorised to transact insurance business in the State under Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002¹ , that—

(a) is not resident in the State, or

(b) is not trading in the State through a fixed place of business.”,

(c) in Chapter 2A—

(i) in subsection (1) of section 787A by substituting “in accordance with section 787G(5)(ii)” for “in accordance with section 787G(5)”, in the definition of “PRSA administrator”,

(ii) in section 787G—

(I) in subsection (1)(a) by substituting “shall, notwithstanding anything in section 18 or 19,” for “shall”, where it first occurs,

(II) by substituting the following for subsection (5):

“(5) At any time when a PRSA administrator—

(a) is not resident in the State, or

(b) is not trading in the State through a fixed place of business,

the PRSA administrator shall, in relation to the discharge of all duties and obligations relating to Personal Retirement Savings Accounts which are imposed on the PRSA administrator by virtue of this Chapter—

(i) enter into a contract with the Revenue Commissioners enforceable in a Member State of the European Communities in relation to the discharge of those duties and obligations and in entering into such a contract the parties to the contract shall acknowledge and agree in writing that—

(I) it shall be governed solely by the laws of the State, and

(II) that the courts of the State shall have exclusive jurisdiction in determining any dispute arising under it,

or

(ii) ensure that there is a person resident in the State, appointed by the PRSA administrator, who will be responsible for the discharge of all of those duties and obligations and shall notify the Revenue Commissioners of the appointment of that person and the identity of that person.”,

and

(III) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) The Revenue Commissioners may by notice in writing require a PRSA administrator, a PRSA provider or the person appointed under subsection (5)(ii), as the case may be, to provide, within 30 days of the date of such notice, such information and particulars as may be specified in the notice as they may reasonably require for the purposes of this Chapter, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such information and particulars may include—

(a) the name, address and PPS Number of the PRSA contributor,

(b) the name, address and PPS Number of any person to whom any payments have been made, or to whom any assets have been made available, by the PRSA administrator or the PRSA provider, and

(c) the amount of any payments and the value of any assets referred to in paragraph (b).”,

(d) by inserting the following after Chapter 2A—

(e) in Chapter 4—

(i) by substituting the following for section 790A:

and

(ii) by inserting the following after section 790A:

(f) in Schedule 23—

(i) in paragraph 1 by inserting “in such form and manner as they may specify” after “Revenue Commissioners” where it first occurs,

(ii) in paragraph 2:

(I) by deleting “and” in subparagraph (b)(ii),

(II) in subparagraph (b)(iii) by substituting “employer, and,” for “employer;”, and

(III) by inserting the following after paragraph (b)(iii):

“(iv) payments by means of pension, gratuity or other like benefits;”,

(iii) by inserting the following after paragraph 2:

“2A Any such return, copy of accounts, information and particulars required to be provided under paragraph 2 shall be in such form and manner as may be specified in the notice under that paragraph.”,

and

(iv) in paragraph 4, subparagraph (2), by substituting “in section 772(2)(c)(ii).” for “in section 772(2)(c).”.

(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects any retirement benefits scheme (within the meaning of section 771 of the Principal Act) approved on or after 1 January 2005.

(b) Paragraph (b), other than subparagraph (iii), of subsection (1) shall apply as respects any annuity contract for the time being approved by the Revenue Commissioners under section 784 of the Principal Act entered into on or after 1 January 2005.

(c) Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects any exercise of an option in accordance with subsection (2A) of section 784 of the Principal Act, on or after 3 February 2005.

(d) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects any PRSA contract (within the meaning of section 787A of the Principal Act) entered into on or after 1 January 2005 in respect of a PRSA product (within the meaning of Part X of the Pensions Act 1990 ) approved by the Revenue Commissioners under section 787K of the Principal Act.

(e) Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects contributions to a qualifying overseas pension plan made on or after 1 January 2005.

(f) Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (e) of subsection (1) shall apply as on and from 1 January 2005.

(g) Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (e) of subsection (1) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may by order appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(h) Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) shall apply as on and from 1 January 2005.

Chapter 3

PAYE: Electronic and Telephone Communications

Amendment of Chapter 6 (electronic transmission of returns of income, profits, etc., and of other Revenue returns) of Part 38 of Principal Act.

22.—With effect from the passing of this Act Chapter 6 (as amended by the Finance Act 2001 ) of Part 38 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 917D by inserting the following after the definition of “digital signature”:

“ ‘electronic identifier’, in relation to a person, means—

(a) the person's digital signature, or

(b) such other means of electronic identification as may be specified or authorised by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of this Chapter;”,

(b) in section 917F(1) by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) the transmission bears the electronic identifier of that person, and”,

(c) in section 917G(1) by substituting “electronic identifiers” for “digital signatures”,

and

(d) in section 917H—

(i) in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and paragraph (c) of subsection (3) by substituting “electronic identifier” for “digital signature”, and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (3):

“(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the Revenue Commissioners may determine different terms and conditions in relation to different returns or categories of a return, different categories of persons and different returns or categories of a return made by different categories of persons.”.

Electronic claims.

23.—With effect from the passing of this Act the Principal Act is amended in Part 37 by inserting the following after section 864:

“864A.—(1) (a) In this section—

‘approved electronic communications’ means such form of electronic communications as the Revenue Commissioners approve of for the purposes of this section;

‘electronic communications’ means communication by electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometric or photonic technology, and related technology, by means of which data is transmitted, including telephone apparatus, and ‘electronic means’ shall be construed accordingly;

‘telephone apparatus’ means telegraphy apparatus designed or adapted for the purposes of transmitting and receiving, by way of a public telecommunications service, spoken messages or information or both of them.

(b) In paragraph (a)—

‘information’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 ;

‘public telecommunications service’ has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities (Telecommunications Infrastructure) Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 338 of 1997 ).

(c) Except where the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct, this section applies to a claim for an allowance, deduction or relief which falls to be taken into account—

(i) in the making of deductions or repayments of tax under Chapter 4 of Part 42 and the regulations made under that Chapter, or

(ii) except in the case of a chargeable person (within the meaning of section 950), in relation to a repayment of tax deducted under that Chapter and those regulations.

(d) References in this section to ‘a claim for an allowance, deduction or relief’ include references to—

(i) the making of an election,

(ii) the giving of a notification or notice,

(iii) the amendment of a claim, election, notification or notice, and

(iv) the withdrawal of any claim, election, notification or notice,

in relation to an allowance, deduction or relief, and also include references to an election, notice or application for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 44 or a claim under Regulation 26(5) of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2001 ).

(e) Notwithstanding any other enactment, references in this section to a claim in writing do not include a reference to a claim made by representing or reproducing words in visible form using electronic means.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts or instruments made thereunder requiring claims to which this section applies to be made in writing or by notice or in such form as may be prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners, such claims as may be specified by the Revenue Commissioners may be made by an individual by means of approved electronic communications, but subject to such terms and conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may from time to time consider appropriate and specify for the purposes of this section.

(3) The Revenue Commissioners shall make known, in such manner as they think fit, any terms and conditions for the time being specified by them for the purposes of this section.

(4) Where terms and conditions specified by the Revenue Commissioners under this section are for the time being in force with respect to the making of claims to which this section applies, such claims that are made by electronic communications are required to be made in accordance with those terms and conditions.

(5) (a) Terms and conditions specified by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of this section shall not be capable of modifying any requirement by or under any enactment as to the period within which any claim is to be made, or as to the contents of any claim.

(b) Such terms and conditions may include provision as to how any requirement as to the contents of a claim is to be fulfilled when the claim is not produced in writing.

(6) Where a claim is made by a person in accordance with this section, the claim shall—

(a) unless and until the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been made by the person purporting to have made the claim, and

(b) be treated as having been made when it is acknowledged, howsoever, by the Revenue Commissioners as having been received by them.

(7) The making of a claim by a person in accordance with this section shall not prevent an officer of the Revenue Commissioners from enquiring into the claim in accordance with section 886A (inserted by the Finance Act 2005).

(8) Where a claim made in accordance with this section results in the issue to the claimant of a notice, or an amended notice, of determination of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point, the inspector shall, as may be appropriate, be deemed to have determined the amount of the tax credits and standard rate cut-off point appropriate to the claimant in accordance with Regulation 10, or amended the amount in accordance with Regulation 13, of the Income Tax (Employments)(Consolidated) Regulations 2001.

(9) Section 917M (as amended by the Finance Act 2001 ) shall apply in respect of proceedings in relation to this section, in the same manner as it applies in respect of proceedings in relation to Chapter 6 of Part 38, subject to any necessary modifications including substituting in section 917M a reference to section 864A for a reference to section 917F(1) in each place where it occurs.

(10) Any act to be performed or function to be discharged by the Revenue Commissioners which is authorised by this section may be performed or discharged by any of their officers acting under their authority.”.

Amendment of provisions relating to claims by individuals.

24.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 458—

(i) by inserting in subsection (1) “, subject to subsection (1B),” after “a claim in that behalf and”, and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (1A) (inserted by the Finance Act 2001 ):

“(1B) The requirement in subsection (1) to make a return in the prescribed form of the individual's total income shall not apply, except where the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct, where the claim falls to be taken into account—

(a) in the making of deductions or repayments of tax under Chapter 4 of Part 42 and the regulations made under that Chapter, or

(b) except in the case of a chargeable person (within the meaning of section 950), in relation to a repayment of tax deducted under that Chapter and those regulations.”,

(b) in section 459 by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(5) Subsections (3) and (4) shall not apply, except where the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct, in relation to a claim which falls to be taken into account—

(a) in the making of deductions or repayments of tax under Chapter 4 of Part 42 and the regulations made under that Chapter, or

(b) except in the case of a chargeable person (within the meaning of section 950), in relation to a repayment of tax deducted under that Chapter and those regulations.”,

and

(c) in section 865—

(i) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for paragraph (b)(i):

“(i) where a person furnishes a statement or return which is required to be delivered by the person in accordance with any provision of the Acts for a chargeable period, such a statement or return shall be treated as a valid claim in relation to a repayment of tax where—

(I) all the information which the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require to enable them determine if and to what extent a repayment of tax is due to the person for that chargeable period is contained in the statement or return, and

(II) the repayment treated as claimed, if due—

(A) would arise out of the assessment to tax, made by the inspector within the meaning of section 950 (in this clause referred to as the ‘inspector’) at the time the statement or return was furnished, on foot of the statement or return, or

(B) would have arisen out of the assessment to tax, that would have been made by the inspector at the time the statement or return was furnished, on foot of the statement or return if an assessment to tax had been made by the inspector at that time,”

and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (3):

“(3A)(a) Subject to paragraph (b), subsection (3) shall not prevent the Revenue Commissioners from making, to a person other than a chargeable person (within the meaning of section 950), a repayment in respect of tax deducted, in accordance with Chapter 4 of Part 42 and the regulations made thereunder, from that person's emoluments for a year of assessment where, on the basis of the information available to them, they are satisfied that the tax so deducted, and in respect of which the person is entitled to a credit, exceeds the person's liability for that year.

(b) A repayment referred to in paragraph (a) shall not be made at a time at which a claim to the repayment would not be allowed under subsection (4).”.

(2) (a) Paragraph (c)(i) of subsection (1) applies to statements or returns made on or after 3 February 2005.

(b) Subsection (1) (other than paragraph (c)(i)) applies with effect from the passing of this Act.

Retention and inspection of records in relation to claims by individuals.

25.—With effect from the passing of this Act the Principal Act is amended in Chapter 3 of Part 38 by inserting the following after section 886:

“886A.—(1) An individual who, in relation to a year of assessment, may wish to make a claim for an allowance, deduction or relief in relation to income tax shall keep and preserve all such records as may be requisite for the purpose of enabling the individual to make a correct and complete claim.

(2) The records which an individual is required to keep and preserve in accordance with subsection (1) shall be retained by the individual for the longer of the following periods—

(a) where enquiries into the claim or any amendment of the claim are made by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, the period ending on the day on which those enquiries are treated as completed by the officer, and

(b) a period of 6 years beginning at the end of the year of assessment to which the claim relates.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), an individual who fails to comply with subsection (1) in relation to any claim which is made for a year of assessment, shall be liable to a penalty of €1,520 and, for the purposes of recovery of a penalty under this subsection, section 1061 shall apply in the same manner as it applies for the purposes of the recovery of a penalty under any of the sections referred to in that section.

(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply where an officer of the Revenue Commissioners is satisfied that any facts which the officer reasonably requires to be proved, and which would have been proved by the records, are proved by other documentary evidence furnished to the officer.

(5) Subject to the provisions of section 956, an officer of the Revenue Commissioners may enquire into—

(a) a claim made by an individual, or

(b) any amendment made by an individual of a claim made by the individual,

if, within 4 years from the end of the year of assessment in which the claim, or (as the case may be) any amendment of the claim, is made, the officer gives notice of his or her intention to do so to that individual.

(6) Where an officer of the Revenue Commissioners gives notice under subsection (5) to any individual (in this subsection referred to as the ‘claimant’) of his or her intention to enquire into—

(a) a claim made by the claimant, or

(b) any amendment made by the claimant of such a claim,

then the officer may at the same or any subsequent time by notice in writing require the claimant, within such time (which shall not be less than 30 days) as may be specified in the notice—

(i) to produce to the officer such documents as are in the claimant's possession or power and as the officer may reasonably require for the purpose of determining whether and, if so, the extent to which the claim or amendment is correct, and

(ii) to furnish the officer with such accounts or particulars as the officer may reasonably require for that purpose.

(7) In complying with a notice under subsection (6) an individual may furnish to the officer copies of documents instead of originals, but—

(a) the copies must be photographic or other facsimiles, and

(b) the officer may by notice require the original to be produced for inspection.

(8) The officer may take copies of, or make extracts from, any document produced to him or her under this section.”.

Amendment of section 997 (supplementary provisions (Chapter 4)) of Principal Act.

26.—With effect from the passing of this Act section 997 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(3) Where the inspector, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 37 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2001 ) sends a statement of liability to an employee, that statement shall, if the inspector so directs and gives notice accordingly in or with the statement sent to the employee, be treated in all respects as if it were an assessment raised on the employee, and all the provisions of the Income Tax Acts relating to appeals against assessments and the collection and recovery of tax charged in an assessment shall accordingly apply to the statement.”.

Chapter 4

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Amendment of section 18 (amendment of Part 16 (income tax relief for investment in corporate trades — business expansion scheme and seed capital scheme) of Principal Act) of Finance Act 2004.

27.— Section 18 of the Finance Act 2004 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) by substituting the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) in section 491—

(i) in subsections (2)(a) and (3)(a), by substituting ‘€1,000,000’ for ‘€750,000’,

and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (3):

‘(3A) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (2) and (3), relief shall not be given in respect of a relevant issue to the extent that—

(a) the amount raised by the relevant issue, or

(b) the aggregate of—

(i) the amount to be raised through the relevant issue, and

(ii) the amount or amounts, if any, raised through the issue of eligible shares other than the relevant issue, within the period of 6 months ending with the date of that relevant issue, by the company or by all of the companies (including the company making the relevant issue) which are associated within the meaning of this section, as the case may be,

exceeds €750,000.’ ”,

(ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (c):

“(cc) in section 495—

(i) by substituting the following for subsections (1) and (2):

‘(1) In this section—

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 1993;

“EEA State” means a state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;

“qualifying subsidiary”, in relation to a company, means a subsidiary of that company of a kind which a company may have by virtue of section 507.

(2) A company shall be a qualifying company if it is incorporated in the State or in an EEA State other than the State and complies with this section.’,

(ii) in subsection (3)(a), by substituting ‘which is resident in the State, or is resident in an EEA State other than the State and carries on business in the State through a branch or agency,’ for ‘which is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere.’,

(iii) by inserting the following after subsection (3):

‘(3A) The company shall—

(a) as respects the period 5 February 2004 to 31 December 2004 be a small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Annex 1 to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 70/2001 of 12 January 2001¹ , and

(b) as respects the period commencing on 1 January 2005 be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Annex 1 to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 364/2004 of 25 February 2004² .’,

and

(iv) by inserting the following after subsection (15):

‘(16) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, a company shall not be a qualifying company while the company is regarded as a firm in difficulty for the purposes of the Community Guidelines on State Aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty³ .’ ”,

and

(iii) by substituting the following for paragraph (d):

“(d) in section 496—

(i) in subsection (2)(a)—

(I) in subparagraph (i)—

(A) in clause (I), by substituting ‘this Part,’ for ‘this Part, and’,

(B) in clause (II), by substituting ‘this Part, and’ for ‘this Part,’, and

(C) by inserting the following after clause (II):

‘(III) as respects a subscription for eligible shares issued on or after 5 February 2004, trading operations consisting of software development services referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of section 443(10) and which would be qualifying trading operations if the employment grants referred to in subparagraph (I) of that paragraph were made, shall, notwithstanding anything in subparagraph (ii), be regarded as qualifying trading operations if approval for the making of such grant is obtained,’,

and

(II) in subparagraphs (iv) and (xv), by substituting ‘on or after 1 January 2003 and on or before 31 December 2004’ for ‘on or after 1 January 2003’,

and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (4):

‘(4A) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, trading operations carried on in the coal industry or in the steel and shipbuilding sectors shall not be regarded as qualifying trading operations for the purposes of this Part.’ ”,

and

(b) in subsection (3)(b)—

(i) in subparagraph (i), by substituting “5 February 2004” for “4 February 2004”,

(ii) by substituting the following for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) as respects paragraph (b)(i), in relation to eligible shares issued on or after 1 January 2004 and as respects paragraph (b)(ii), in relation to eligible shares issued on or after 5 February 2004”,

(iii) in subparagraph (iii), by substituting “5 February 2004,” for “4 February 2004, and”,

(iv) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iii):

“(iiia) as respects paragraph (cc), as on and from 5 February 2004, and”,

and

(v) in subparagraph (iv), by substituting “5 February 2004” for “4 February 2004.”.

Amendment of section 482 (relief for expenditure on significant buildings and gardens) of Principal Act.

28.—Section 482 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (5)(b)—

(i) in subparagraph (ii)(II), by substituting “4 hours,” for “4 hours, and”,

(ii) in subparagraph (iii), by substituting “access to the building, and” for “access to the building.”, and

(iii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that—

(I) details relating to that access are publicised or drawn to the attention of the public by way of advertisement, leaflet, press notice or similar means annually,

(II) a notice containing the details of the dates and times at which access is afforded to the public—

(A) is displayed on the days on which such access is so afforded and in a conspicuous location at or near the place where the public can gain entrance to the building concerned, and

(B) is so displayed so as to be easily visible and legible by the public,

and

(III) conditions, if any, in regard to that access are such that they would not act as a disincentive to the public from seeking such access.”,

and

(b) in subsection (7), by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) Where a person makes a claim under subsection (2), an authorised person may at any reasonable time enter the building in respect of which the qualifying expenditure has been incurred for the purpose of—

(i) inspecting, as the case may be, the building or an object or of examining any work in respect of which the expenditure to which the claim relates was incurred, or

(ii) ensuring that the requirements in relation to reasonable access set out in subsection (5) are being complied with.”.

Amendment of Chapter 1 (interpretation and general) of Part 23 (farming and market gardening) of Principal Act.

29.—Chapter 1 of Part 23 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 657:

Amendment of section 659 (farming: allowances for capital expenditure on the construction of farm buildings, etc., for control of pollution) of Principal Act.

30.—Section 659 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(c), by substituting “1 January 2009” for “1 January 2007” (inserted by the Finance Act 2004 ),

(b) in subsection (2)(b)—

(i) by substituting “6 April 2000,” for “6 April 2000, or” in subparagraph (i),

(ii) by substituting “6 April 2000 but before 1 January 2005, or” for “6 April 2000,” in subparagraph (ii), and

(iii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) 3 years beginning with the chargeable period related to the capital expenditure, where that expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2005.”,

(c) in subsection (3A) by substituting “on or after 6 April 2000 but before 1 January 2005 shall,” for “on or after 6 April 2000 shall,”,

(d) by inserting the following after subsection (3A):

“(3AA) The farm pollution control allowances to be made in accordance with subsection (2) during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii) in respect of capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period, shall where that expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2005, and subject to subsection (3BA), be an amount equal to 331/3 per cent of that expenditure incurred for each of the 3 years of the writing-down period.”,

(e) in subsection (3B)(a)—

(i) by substituting “In this subsection and subsection (3BA)” for “In this subsection”,

(ii) by substituting “residual amount.” for “residual amount;” in the definition of “specified amount”, and

(iii) by deleting “ ‘specified return date for the chargeable period’ has the same meaning as in section 950.”,

(f) by inserting the following after subsection (3B):

“(3BA) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (3AA), where farm pollution control allowances are to be made to a person in accordance with that subsection during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii), such person may elect to have those allowances made in accordance with this subsection and, where such person so elects, the allowances shall be made in accordance with this subsection only.

(b) Where paragraph (a) applies to a person, the farm pollution control allowance to be made to such person during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii) shall be an amount equal to—

(i) 331/3 per cent of the specified amount for each of the 3 years of the writing-down period, and

(ii) subject to paragraph (c), the whole or any part of the residual amount, as is specified by the person to whom the allowances are to be made, in any year of the writing-down period.

(c) The allowances to be made in accordance with paragraph (b) for any year of the writing-down period, shall not in the aggregate exceed the residual amount.”,

(g) by substituting the following for subsection (3C)(a):

“(3C) (a) An election by a person to whom this section applies in relation to the farm pollution control allowances claimed in subsection (3B) or (3BA), as the case may be, shall be made in writing on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period (within the meaning of section 950) in which the expenditure is incurred and shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming as set out in subsection (5).”,

and

(h) in subsection (11) by substituting “Chapter 1 or Chapter 2” for “Chapter 1”.

Amendment of section 666 (deduction for increase in stock values) of Principal Act.

31.—(1) Section 666 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (4) (inserted by the Finance Act 2003 ):

“(4) (a) A deduction shall not be allowed under this section in computing a company's trading income for any accounting period which ends after 31 December 2006.

(b) Any deduction allowed by virtue of this section in computing the profits or gains of the trade of farming for an accounting period of a person other than a company shall not apply for any purpose of the Income Tax Acts for any year of assessment later than the year 2006.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 3 February 2005.

Amendment of section 667A (further provisions for qualifying farmers) of Principal Act.

32.—(1) Section 667A (inserted by the Finance Act 2004 ) of the Principal Act is amended in paragraph (b) of subsection (6) by substituting “31 December 2006” for “31 December 2004”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may by order appoint.

Amendment of section 843 (capital allowances for buildings used for third level educational purposes) of Principal Act.

33.—Section 843 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (7):

“(7) The Minister for Finance may not give a certificate under subsection (4) unless an application for certification was made before 1 January 2005.”.

Capital allowances for registered tourist accommodation.

34.—Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 268—

(i) by inserting the following after subsection (2B):

“(2C) For the purposes of this Part, a building or structure (other than a building or structure which is in use for the purposes of the trade of hotel-keeping) which is in use as—

(a) a guest house and is registered in the register of guest houses kept under the Tourist Traffic Acts 1939 to 2003, or

(b) a holiday hostel and is registered in the register of holiday hostels kept under the Tourist Traffic Acts 1939 to 2003,

shall, as respects capital expenditure incurred on or after 3 February 2005 on its construction (within the meaning of section 270), be deemed to be a building or structure in use for the purposes of the trade of hotel-keeping.”,

(ii) in subsection (3), by substituting “a holiday camp registered in the register of holiday camps kept under the Tourist Traffic Acts 1939 to 2003” for “a holiday camp”,

(iii) in subsection (12)—

(I) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) that it has received a declaration from that person as to whether or not that person is—

(i) a small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the European Communities Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises¹ , or

(ii) a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises² ,”,

(II) in paragraph (d)(i), by substituting “the Regulation or Recommendation” for “the Regulation”, and

(III) in paragraph (d)(ii), by inserting the following after “European Communities”:

“or, as the case may be, ‘Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty’³ prepared by that Commission”,

and

(iv) by inserting the following after subsection (13):

“(14) Subject to subsection (15), a building or structure in use for the purposes of the trade of hotel-keeping (but not including a building or structure deemed to be such a building or structure) shall not, as respects capital expenditure incurred on or after 3 February 2005 on its construction (within the meaning of section 270), be treated as an industrial building or structure unless the building or structure is registered in the register of hotels kept under the Tourist Traffic Acts 1939 to 2003.

(15) Subsection (14) shall not apply as respects capital expenditure incurred on or before 31 July 2006 on the construction or refurbishment of a building or structure in use for the purposes of the trade of hotel-keeping if—

(a)  (i) a planning application (not being an application for outline permission within the meaning of section 36 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 ), in so far as planning permission was required, in respect of the construction or refurbishment work on the building or structure represented by that expenditure, was made in accordance with the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 to 2004,

(ii) an acknowledgement of the application, which confirms that the application was received on or before 31 December 2004, was issued by the planning authority in accordance with article 26(2) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 600 of 2001 ), and

(iii) the application was not an invalid application in respect of which a notice was issued by the planning authority in accordance with article 26(5) of those regulations,

(b)  (i) a planning application, in so far as planning permission was required, in respect of the construction or refurbishment work on the building or structure represented by that expenditure, was made in accordance with the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations 1994 ( S.I. No. 86 of 1994 ), not being an application for outline permission within the meaning of article 3 of those regulations,

(ii) an acknowledgement of the application, which confirms that the application was received on or before 10 March 2002, was issued by the planning authority in accordance with article 29(2)(a) of the regulations referred to in subparagraph (i), and

(iii) the application was not an invalid application in respect of which a notice was issued by the planning authority in accordance with article 29(2)(b)(i) of those regulations,

(c) where the construction or refurbishment work on the building or structure represented by that expenditure is exempted development for the purposes of the Planning and Development Act 2000 by virtue of section 4 of that Act or by virtue of Part 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 600 of 2001 ) and—

(i) a detailed plan in relation to the development work was prepared,

(ii) a binding contract in writing, under which the expenditure on the development is incurred, was in existence, and

(iii) work to the value of 5 per cent of the development costs was carried out,

not later than 31 December 2004, or

(d)  (i) the construction or refurbishment of the building or structure is a development in respect of which an application for a certificate under section 25 (7)(a)(ii) of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 was made to the Authority (within the meaning of that Act),

(ii) an acknowledgement of the application, which confirms that the application was received on or before 31 December 2004, was issued by that Authority, and

(iii) the application was not an invalid application.”,

(b) in section 272—

(i) in subsection (3)—

(I) in paragraph (c), by substituting “paragraph (d) or (da)” for “paragraph (d)”, and

(II) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(da) in relation to a building or structure which is to be regarded as an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 268(1)(d) by reason of its use as a guest house or a holiday hostel to which section 268(2C) applies, 4 per cent of the capital expenditure on the construction (within the meaning of section 270) of the building or structure which is incurred on or after 3 February 2005,”,

and

(ii) in subsection (4)—

(I) in paragraph (c), by substituting “paragraph (d) or (da)” for “paragraph (d)”, and

(II) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(da) in relation to a building or structure which is to be regarded as an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 268(1)(d) by reason of its use as a guest house or a holiday hostel to which section 268(2C) applies, 25 years beginning with the time when the building or structure was first used, in the case where the capital expenditure on the construction (within the meaning of section 270) of the building or structure is incurred on or after 3 February 2005,”,

and

(c) in section 274(1)—

(i) in paragraph (b)(iii), by substituting “subparagraph (iv) or (iva)” for “subparagraph (iv)”, and

(ii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iv):

“(iva) in relation to a building or structure which is to be regarded as an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 268(1)(d) by reason of its use as a guest house or a holiday hostel to which section 268(2C) applies, 25 years after the building or structure was first used, in the case where the capital expenditure on the construction (within the meaning of section 270) of the building or structure is incurred on or after 3 February 2005,”.

Amendment of section 372AJ (nonapplication of relief in certain cases and provision against double relief) of Principal Act.

35.—Section 372AJ(1) of the Principal Act is amended in paragraph (ab) by inserting the following after the existing text in that paragraph:

“or, as the case may be, by a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises¹ ”.

Amendment of section 481 (relief for investment in films) of Principal Act.

36.—Section 481 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(b), by deleting subparagraph (1),

(b) in subsection (2A)(g)—

(i) by deleting subparagraph (i),

(ii) in subparagraph (iii) by substituting “the amount per cent (in subsection (2)(c) referred to as ‘the specified percentage’) specified in the certificate” for “the specified percentage, as referred to in that subsection”,

(iii) by substituting the following for subparagraph (iv):

“(iv) in relation to the minimum amount of money to be expended on the production of the qualifying film—

(I) directly by the qualifying company on the employment, by the company, of eligible individuals, in so far as those individuals exercise their employment in the State in the production of the qualifying film, and

(II) directly or indirectly by the qualifying company, on the provision of certain goods, services and facilities, as set out in regulations made under subsection (2E),”,

and

(iv) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iv):

“(v) where financial arrangements have been approved by the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with subsection (2C)(ba), in relation to any matter pertaining to those arrangements.”,

(c) in subsection (2C)—

(i) in paragraph (b), by inserting “subject to paragraph (ba),” before “if”, and

(ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(ba) (i) Paragraph (b) shall not apply to financial arrangements in relation to a transaction or series of transactions, where such arrangements have been approved by the Revenue Commissioners.

(ii) The Revenue Commissioners shall not approve financial arrangements, to which paragraph (b) would, but for this paragraph, apply unless:

(I) the arrangements relate to either or both—

(A) an investment made in a qualifying film, and

(B) the filming of part of a film in a territory other than a territory referred to in clause (I) or (II) of paragraph (b)(i),

(II) a request for approval is made by the qualifying company to the Revenue Commissioners before such arrangements are effected,

(III) the qualifying company demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that it can provide, if requested, sufficient records to enable the Revenue Commissioners to verify—

(A) in the case of an investment, the amount of the investment made in the qualifying company and the person who made the investment, and

(B) in the case of filming in a territory, the amount of each item of expenditure on the production of the qualifying film expended in the territory, whether expended by the qualifying company or by any other person,

and

(IV) they are satisfied that it is appropriate to grant such approval.

(iii) In considering whether to grant an approval under this paragraph in relation to financial arrangements, the Revenue Commissioners may seek any information they consider appropriate in relation to the arrangements or in relation to any person who is, directly or indirectly, a party to the arrangements.

(iv) Where the Revenue Commissioners have approved financial arrangements in accordance with this paragraph, no amount of money expended, either directly or indirectly, as part of the arrangements may be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (2A)(g)(iv), as an amount of money expended on either the employment of eligible individuals or on the provision of goods, services and facilities as referred to in that subsection.”,

(d) in subsection (2E)—

(i) in paragraph (k), by deleting “and”, and

(ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (l):

“(m) governing the approval of financial arrangements in accordance with subsection (2C)(ba), and

(n) governing the employment of eligible individuals, as referred to in subsection (2A)(g)(iv), and the circumstances in which expenditure by a qualifying company would be regarded as expenditure on the employment of those individuals in the production of a qualifying film.”,

and

(e) in subsection (22), by substituting “1 January 2005” for “the day appointed by order made by the Minister for Finance for the coming into operation of this subsection” and “the day so appointed” respectively.

Amendment of section 1013 (limited partnerships) of Principal Act.

37.—Section 1013 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) in the definition of “limited partner”—

(i) in paragraph (c) by substituting “trade,” for “trade, or”,

(ii) in paragraph (d) by substituting “partner,” for “partner;”, and

(iii) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(e) a person who carries on the trade as a partner in a partnership registered under the law of any territory outside the State, otherwise than as an active partner, or

(f) a person who carries on the trade jointly with others under any agreement, arrangement, scheme or understanding which is governed by the law of any territory outside the State, otherwise than as a person who works for the greater part of his or her time on the day-to-day management or conduct of that trade;”,

and

(b) in subsection (2)(a)—

(i) in subparagraph (II) by substituting “trade,” for “trade, or”,

(ii) in subparagraph (III) by substituting “trade, or” for “trade,”, and

(iii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (III):

“(IV) where the individual is a limited partner in relation to a trade by virtue of paragraph (e) or (f) of the definition of ‘limited partner’ and the relevant year of assessment is the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, only against income consisting of profits or gains arising from the trade,”.

Amendment of Schedule 26A (donations to approved bodies, etc.) to Principal Act.

38.—Schedule 26A to the Principal Act is amended in Part 3 by substituting “2 years,” for “3 years,” in subparagraph (c) of paragraph 3.

Amendment of section 817 (schemes to avoid liability to tax under Schedule F) of Principal Act.

39.—(1) Section 817 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by inserting the following after paragraph (c)—

“(ca) For the purposes of this section, following a disposal of shares in a close company by a shareholder or the carrying out of a scheme or arrangement of which the disposal is a part, the interest of the shareholder in any trade or business which was carried on by the close company shall be deemed—

(i) to include the interest, or interests as the case may be, in that trade or business of one or more persons connected with the shareholder, if increasing that interest of the shareholder by such interest, or interests as the case may be, would result in the interest of the shareholder in the trade or business not having been significantly reduced,

(ii) notwithstanding paragraph (c), not to have been significantly reduced where—

(I) the business carried on by the close company, taking account of any trade carried on by that company, consisted wholly or mainly of the holding of shares in another company carrying on a trade or business or in more than one such other company, and

(II) the interest of the shareholder in any such trade or business last-mentioned in clause (I), whether or not that trade or business continues to be carried on by such other company after the disposal, is not significantly reduced,

(iii) notwithstanding paragraph (c), not to have been significantly reduced where the gain realised by the shareholder on that disposal is wholly or mainly attributable to payments or other transfers of value from another company or companies, which is or are controlled by that shareholder or by that shareholder and persons connected with him or her, to the close company, and

(iv) not to have been significantly reduced where—

(I) it would not have been so reduced if the shareholder were to be treated as beneficially entitled to any shares to which he or she could, at any time, become so entitled by the exercise of a discretion by trustees,

(II) the acquisition of those shares by the trustees was directly or indirectly related to a disposal, including a prior or subsequent disposal, of such shares by the shareholder, and

(III) the shares were acquired by the trustees with the direct or indirect financial assistance of a company or companies, which is or are controlled by the shareholder or by the shareholder and persons connected with the shareholder.”.

(2) This section applies and has effect as respects any disposal of shares (within the meaning of section 817 of the Principal Act) on or after 1 March 2005.

Court funds.

40.—The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 739B(1)—

(i) in the definition of “chargeable event” by inserting the following after paragraph (II):

“(IIa) any transaction in relation to, or in respect of, relevant units (within the meaning of subsection (2A)(a)) in an investment undertaking which transaction arises only by virtue of a change of court funds manager for that undertaking,”,

and

(ii) “collective investor”:

“ ‘court funds manager’ means a person appointed by the Service to set up and administer an investment undertaking with money under the control or subject to the order of any Court;”,

and

(b) in section 739D(1)—

(i) by deleting “and” after “unit,” in paragraph (b), and

(ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(bb) references to an amount invested by a unit holder in an investment undertaking for the acquisition of a unit (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘original unit’), where the original unit has been exchanged for a unit or units in a transaction of the type referred to in paragraph (IIa) of the definition of ‘chargeable event’ in section 739B(1), are references to the amount invested by the unit holder for the acquisition of the original unit, and”.

Assets of overseas life assurance companies.

41.—(1) Section 29(3) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (c) by substituting “agency,” for “agency.”, and

(b) by inserting the following after paragraph (c):

“(d) assets situated outside the State of an overseas life assurance company (within the meaning of section 706(1)), being assets which were held in connection with the life business (within the meaning of section 706(1)) carried on by the company, which at or before the time the chargeable gains accrued were used or held by or for the purposes of that company's branch or agency in the State.”.

(2) This section applies as respects accounting periods ending on or after 1 March 2005.

Amendment of Chapter 5 (policyholders— new basis) of Part 26 of Principal Act.

42.—(1) Chapter 5 of Part 26 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 730C(1)(a) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) the ending of a relevant period, where such ending is not otherwise a chargeable event within the meaning of this section, and for the purposes of this subparagraph ‘relevant period’ in relation to a life policy means a period of 7 years beginning with the inception of the policy and each subsequent period of 7 years beginning immediately after the preceding relevant period,”,

(b) in section 730D—

(i) in subsection (1)—

(I) by deleting “and” in paragraph (d), and

(II) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(da) if the chargeable event is the ending of a relevant period in accordance with section 730C(1)(a)(iv), a gain in the amount determined under subsection (3)(da), and”,

(ii) in subsection (3)—

(I) by deleting “and” in paragraph (d), and

(II) by inserting the following after paragraph (d):

“(da) in subsection (1)(da) is the amount determined by the formula—

V — P

and”,

(iii) in subsection (4) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(ba) Where a chargeable event in relation to a life policy is the ending of a relevant period in accordance with section 730C(1)(a)(iv) then, for the purposes of determining a gain arising on the happening of a subsequent chargeable event, the allowable premiums immediately after the time of such ending shall be deemed to be the greater of—

(i) an amount equal to the value of the policy immediately after the time of such ending, and

(ii) the allowable premiums immediately before such ending.”,

and

(iv) by inserting the following after subsection (4)—

“(5) (a) Where at any time—

(i) a chargeable event, being a chargeable event (in this subsection referred to as a ‘relevant event’) within the meaning of section 730C(1)(a)(iv), occurs in relation to a life policy which commenced before 1 May 2005,

(ii) immediately before that time the assurance company that commenced the life policy does not have in its possession a declaration in relation to the policy of the kind referred to in subsection (2), and

(iii) the permanent address of the policyholder, as stated in the policy, is not in the State and the assurance company does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the policyholder is resident in the State,

then the assurance company may elect to be treated in relation to that chargeable event for the purposes of subsection (2) as if, immediately before that time, the assurance company was in possession of a declaration in relation to the policy of the kind referred to in that subsection.

(b) Where at any time—

(i) a relevant event occurred in relation to a life policy and a chargeable event, not being a relevant event, subsequently occurs in relation to the policy,

(ii) this subsection applied to the relevant event in accordance with paragraph (a), and

(iii) immediately before that time the assurance company that commenced the life policy does not have in its possession a declaration in relation to the policy of the kind referred to in subsection (2),

then paragraph (a) shall be deemed not to have applied to the relevant event and any appropriate tax payable by virtue of a gain arising under this section shall be due and payable as if paragraph (a) had not been enacted.”,

(c) in section 730E(2)(a) by adding “at or about the time of the inception of the life policy” after “policyholder”, and

(d) in section 730F(3)(a)(ii) by inserting the following after clause (I):

“(Ia) is the ending of a relevant period in accordance with section 730C(1)(a)(iv), or”.

(2) This section comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may by order appoint either generally or with reference to any particular provision of this section or class of policy and different days may be so appointed for different provisions of this section or for different classes of policies.

Amendment of section 747E (disposal of an interest in offshore funds) of Principal Act.

43.—(1) Section 747E (inserted by the Finance Act 2001 ) of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3) by substituting “for the purposes of the Tax Acts and the Capital Gains Tax Acts” for “accordingly for the purposes of this Chapter”.

(2) This section applies as respects the disposal of an interest in an offshore fund (within the meaning of section 747E of the Principal Act) on or after 3 February 2005.

Common contractual funds.

44.—The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in the definition of “collective investment undertaking” in section 172A(1)(a)—

(i) by deleting “or” in subparagraph (ii),

(ii) by inserting “or” after “ Finance Act, 2000 ),” in subparagraph (iii), and

(iii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) a common contractual fund within the meaning of section 739I (inserted by the Finance Act 2005),”,

(b) in the definition of “investment undertaking” in section 246(1)—

(i) by deleting “or” in paragraph (b),

(ii) by substituting “section 739B, or” for “section 739B;” in paragraph (c), and

(iii) by inserting the following after paragraph (c):

“(d) a common contractual fund within the meaning given to it in section 739I (inserted by the Finance Act 2005);”,

(c) in section 739C—

(i) in subsection (1) by deleting “, subject to subsection (1A),”, and

(ii) by deleting subsection (1A),

and

(d) by inserting the following after section 739H—

Treatment of leasing.

45.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 396A(1) by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant trading loss”:

“ ‘relevant trading loss’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means a loss incurred in the accounting period in a trade carried on by the company, other than—

(a) so much of the loss as is a loss incurred in an excepted trade within the meaning of section 21A, and

(b) any amount which is or would, if subsection (8) of section 403 had not been enacted, be the relevant amount of the loss for the purposes of subsection (4) of that section.”,

(b) in section 396B(1), in the definition of “relevant trading loss”, by deleting the words after “section 396A”,

(c) in section 403(4)(a)(ii) by substituting “group relief except to the extent that it could be set off under section 420A against income of a trade of leasing carried on by the claimant company if paragraph (b) of the definition of relevant trading loss in section 420A were deleted” for “group relief”,

(d) in section 420A(1) by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant trading loss”:

“ ‘relevant trading loss’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means a loss incurred in the accounting period in a trade carried on by the company, other than—

(a) so much of the loss as is a loss incurred in an excepted trade within the meaning of section 21A, and

(b) any amount which is or would, if subsection (8) of section 403 had not been enacted, be the relevant amount of the loss for the purposes of subsection (4) of that section.”,

and

(e) in section 420B, in the definition of “relevant trading loss”, by deleting the words after “section 396A”.

(2) (a) Paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of subsection (1) apply as respects any claim made by a company on or after 3 February 2005 for relief for a loss.

(b) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) applies as respects an accounting period ending on or after 3 February 2005.

Treatment of certain dividends.

46.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 17 by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a banker by virtue only of the clearing of a cheque, or the arranging for the clearing of a cheque, by the banker.”,

and

(b) in section 62—

(i) by renumbering the existing provision as subsection (1) of that section, and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (1):

“(2) This section does not apply to a banker by virtue only of the clearing of a cheque, or the arranging for the clearing of a cheque, by the banker.”.

(2) This section applies as respects any payment on or after the date of the passing of this Act.

Dividend withholding tax.

47.—(1) Chapter 8A (inserted by the Finance Act 1999 ) of Part 6 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 172A(1)(a) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “pension scheme”:

“ ‘PRSA administrator’ has the same meaning as in section 787A;

‘PRSA assets’ has the same meaning as in section 787A;”,

and

(b) in section 172C—

(i) in subsection (2)—

(I) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (ba):

“(bb) a PRSA administrator who is receiving the relevant distribution as income arising in respect of PRSA assets, and has made a declaration to the relevant person in relation to the relevant distribution in accordance with paragraph 10 of Schedule 2A,”,

and

(II) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (da):

“(db) a unit trust to which section 731(5)(a) applies and which has made a declaration to the relevant person in relation to the relevant distribution in accordance with paragraph 11 of Schedule 2A,”,

and

(ii) in subsection (3) by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (c):

“(ca) a PRSA administrator who receives a relevant distribution as income arising in respect of PRSA assets,

(cb) a unit trust to which section 731(5)(a) applies which receives a relevant distribution in relation to units in that unit trust,”.

(2) Schedule 2A (inserted by the Finance Act 1999 ) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph 9:

“Declaration to be made by a PRSA administrator