Finance Act, 1980

Age exemption.

2.—(1) This section applies, for the year 1980-81 or any subsequent year of assessment, to an individual who makes a claim for the purpose, makes a return in the prescribed form of his total income for that year and proves that, at some time during the year of assessment, either he or, in a case where the individual would, apart from this section, be entitled to a deduction specified in section 138 (a) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , his spouse, was of the age of sixty-five years or upwards.

(2) Where an individual to whom this section applies proves that his total income for a year of assessment for which this section applies does not exceed the specified amount, he shall be entitled to exemption from income tax for that year.

(3) Where an individual to whom this section applies proves that his total income for a year of assessment for which this section applies does not exceed £10,000, he shall be entitled to have the amount of income tax payable in respect of his total income for that year, if that amount would, but for the provisions of this subsection, exceed a sum equal to 60 per cent. of the amount by which his total income exceeds the specified amount, reduced to that sum.

(4) All such provisions of the Income Tax Acts as apply in relation to the deductions specified in sections 138 to 143 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to exemption from or any reduction of tax under this section or under section 1.

(5) Section 7 of the Finance Act, 1977 , shall not apply or have effect in relation to the year 1980-81 or any subsequent year of assessment.

(6) In this section “the specified amount” means—

(a) in a case where the individual would, apart from this section, be entitled to a deduction specified in paragraph (a) of the said section 138, £4,000:

Provided that, if at any time during the year of assessment either the individual or his spouse was of the age of seventy-five years or upwards, “the specified amount” means £5,000;

(b) in any other case, £2,000:

Provided that, if at any time during the year of assessment the individual was of the age of seventy-five years or upwards, “the specified amount” means £2,500.

(7) In this section and in section 1 “total income” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , but includes income arising outside the State which is not chargeable to tax.