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21 1978

FINANCE ACT, 1978

PART VII

Miscellaneous

Capital Services Redemption Account.

45. —(1) In this section—

the principal section” means section 22 of the Finance Act, 1950 ;

the 1977 amending section” means section 52 of the Finance Act, 1977 ;

the twenty-eighth additional annuity” means the sum charged on the Central Fund under subsection (4) of this section;

the Minister”, “the Account” and “capital services” have the same meanings respectively as they have in the principal section.

(2) In relation to the twenty-nine successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on the 31st day of December, 1978, subsection (4) of the 1977 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£10,069,854” for “£10,985,618”.

(3) Subsection (6) of the 1977 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£6,356,614” for “£7,071,680”.

(4) A sum of £13,577,065 to redeem borrowings, and interest thereon, in respect of capital services shall be charged annually on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof in the thirty successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on the 31st day of December, 1978.

(5) The twenty-eighth additional annuity shall be paid into the Account in such manner and at such times in the relevant financial year as the Minister may determine.

(6) Any amount of the twenty-eighth additional annuity, not exceeding £8,739,850 in any financial year, may be applied towards defraying the interest on the public debt.

(7) The balance of the twenty-eighth additional annuity shall be applied in any one or more of the ways specified in subsection (6) of the principal section.

Interest on unpaid taxes.

46. —(1) This section applies to interest chargeable under—

(a) section 14 of the Finance Act, 1962 ,

(b) sections 129 and 550 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ,

(c) section 17 (6A) of the Finance Act, 1970 ,

(d) sections 20 (2) and 50 (2) of the Finance Act, 1971 ,

(e) section 21 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 ,

(f) sections 145 and 152 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .

(2) Where any interest to which this section applies is chargeable for any month commencing on or after the date of the passing of this Act, or any part of such a month, in respect of tax due to be paid or remitted whether before, on or after such date, such interest shall, notwithstanding the provisions of section 28 of the Finance Act, 1975 , be chargeable at the rate of 1.25 per cent. for each month or part of a month instead of at the rate specified in the said sections and those sections shall have effect as if the rate aforesaid were substituted for the rates specified in those sections.

(3) In this section “tax” means income tax, sur-tax, capital gains tax, corporation profits tax, corporation tax or value-added tax, as may be appropriate.

Disclosure of certain information by Revenue Commissioners to certain persons.

47. —(1) This section applies to any charge imposed on public monies, being a charge for the purposes of relief under the Rates on Agricultural Land (Relief) Acts, 1939 to 1976.

(2) Where a charge to which this section applies falls to be made, the Revenue Commissioners or any officer authorised by them for that purpose, may, in connection with the establishment of title to the relief aforesaid of a person (hereinafter referred to as “the claimant”), notwithstanding any obligation as to secrecy imposed on them under the Income Tax Acts or under any other enactment, disclose to any person specified in column (1) of the Table to this section, information of the kind specified in column (2) of that Table, being information in respect of the claimant which is required by the said person or persons when considering the claimant's title to the relief mentioned in this section.

(3) In the Table to this section “occupation” has the same meaning as in section 13 of the Finance Act, 1974 , and “rating authority” has the same meaning as in section 73 of the said Finance Act, 1974 .

TABLE

Person to whom information to be given

Information to be given

(1)

(2)

The secretary or clerk, or a person acting as such, to a rating authority or any officer of the Minister for the Environment authorised by him for the purpose of this section.

Information relating to the occupation of land by the claimant and the rateable valuation thereof.

Ranking of debt guaranteed by State.

48. —To remove doubt, it is hereby declared that any liabilities of the Minister for Finance, or of any other Minister of the Government, in respect of guarantees given under an Act of the Oireachtas by the Minister for Finance, or by any other Minister of the Government with the consent of the Minister for Finance, of the due repayment of moneys borrowed by other persons shall rank, and be deemed always to have ranked, pari passu in all respects with the liabilities of the Minister for Finance in respect of securities created and issued under section 54 (1) of the Finance Act, 1970 .

Amendment of section 54 (creation and issue of securities by Minister for Finance) of Finance Act, 1970.

49. Section 54 of the Finance Act, 1970 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion in subsection (2) of “or issued by the Minister for Finance under any other provision of an Act of the Oireachtas” after “under this section”, and

(b) by the insertion after subsection (4) (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1970 ), of the following subsections:

“(5) Securities created and issued by the Minister for Finance either under this section or under any other provision of an Act of the Oireachtas may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, be purchased by him from the Post Office Savings Bank Fund and cancelled.

(6) The prices at which the Minister for Finance may purchase securities under subsection (5) of this section shall be fixed by him at levels which, in his opinion, are equal to the fair market prices for those securities on the days on which the sales take place.”.

Winding up of Road Fund.

50. —(1) (a) Sections 2 and 3 of the Roads Act, 1920, are hereby repealed.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1978, but shall not affect the operation of subsection (5) of the said section 3 in so far as it relates to the financial year ending on the 31st day of December, 1978.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, payments which, but for subsection (1) of this section would fall to be made out of the Road Fund, shall be made in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(b) Any repayments falling to be made of any amount paid in respect of the duties imposed by the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , shall be made out of receipts of those duties in accordance with the directions of the Minister for the Environment.

(3) Moneys which, but for subsection (1) of this section, would fall to be paid into the Road Fund from the Central Fund shall be retained in the Central Fund and other moneys which, but for this subsection, would fall to be paid into the Road Fund shall be paid into the Central Fund.

(4) (a) The Minister for the Environment may by regulations make, in respect of any statute or instrument made under statute, in force at the passing of this Act and relating to any matter or thing dealt with or affected by this section, any adaptations or modifications which appear to him to be necessary to enable such statute or instrument to have effect in conformity with this section.

(b) Regulations under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by either House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulations are laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Contracts of guarantee and loan contracts in connection with aid to developing countries.

51. —(1) The Minister for Finance may, on behalf of the State, enter into contracts of guarantee and loan contracts in connection with actions designed to aid countries and territories described as developing countries and territories in the latest annual report of the Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published before the date of the relevant contract.

(2) The Minister for Finance shall not so exercise the powers conferred on him by this section that the amount or aggregate amount of money which he may at any one time be liable to pay under contracts of guarantee and loan contracts, together with the amounts (if any) which the said Minister has previously paid under contracts of guarantee and loan contracts and have not been repaid to him, exceeds £10,000,000.

(3) Moneys required to be paid by the Minister for Finance to meet sums which may become payable by him under subsection (1) of this section shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(4) Where the whole or any part of moneys advanced under subsection (3) of this section in respect of contracts of guarantee has not been repaid to the Minister for Finance within a period of five years from the date of the advance, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(5) Money received by the Minister for Finance arising out of contracts of guarantee and loan contracts entered into pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

(6) In this section—

contracts of guarantee” means contracts under which the State becomes liable in respect of the whole or part of the financial obligations incurred by the recipients of loans under the terms of the loans;

loan contracts” means contracts providing for loans under which the State advances the whole or part of the loans either directly or through an international organisation of which the State is a member.

Repeals.

52. —(1) (a) Each enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part I of the Fourth Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part, subject to the provision made at the end of that Part.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of April, 1978.

(2) The enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part II of the Fourth Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part in relation to beer brewed on or after the 1st day of July, 1978.

Care and management of taxes and duties.

53. —All taxes and duties imposed by this Act are hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

Short title, construction and commencement.

54. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Finance Act, 1978.

(2) Part I of this Act (so far as relating to income tax) shall be construed together with the Income Tax Acts and (so far as relating to corporation tax) shall be construed together with the Corporation Tax Acts.

(3) Part II of this Act, so far as it relates to Customs, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and the said Part II, so far as it relates to duties of excise, shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and to the management of those duties.

(4) Part III of this Act shall be construed together with the Stamp Act, 1891, and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(5) Part IV of this Act shall be construed together with the Finance Act, 1894, and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(6) Part V of this Act shall be construed together with the Wealth Tax Act, 1975 , and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(7) Part VI of this Act shall be construed together with the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976 , and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(8) Part I of this Act shall, save as is otherwise expressly provided therein, be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from the 6th day of April, 1978.

(9) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment including this Act.