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5 2005

Finance Act 2005

PART 6

Miscellaneous

Amendment of section 903 (power of inspection: PAYE) of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

138. Section 903 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) (a) An authorised officer shall not, without the consent of the occupier, enter any premises, or that portion of any premises, which is occupied wholly and exclusively as a private residence, except on production by such officer of a warrant issued by a Judge of the District Court expressly authorising the authorised officer to so enter.

(b) A Judge of the District Court may issue a warrant under paragraph (a) if satisfied by information on oath that it is proper to do so for the purposes of this section.”.

Amendment of section 904 (power of inspection: tax deduction from payments to certain subcontractors) of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

139. Section 904 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) (a) An authorised officer shall not, without the consent of the occupier, enter any premises, or that portion of any premises, which is occupied wholly and exclusively as a private residence, except on production by such officer of a warrant issued by a Judge of the District Court expressly authorising the authorised officer to so enter.

(b) A Judge of the District Court may issue a warrant under paragraph (a) if satisfied by information on oath that it is proper to do so for the purposes of this section.”.

Amendment of Chapter 4 (revenue powers) of Part 38 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

140. —Chapter 4 of Part 38 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 902A:

“Powers of inspection: life policies.

902B.—(1) In this section—

‘assurance company’ has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Insurance Act 1936 ;

‘authorised officer’ means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners who is authorised by them in writing to exercise the powers conferred by this section;

‘policy’ and ‘premium’ have the same meanings, respectively, as in section 3 of the Insurance Act 1936 ;

‘relevant records’, in relation to a policy, means any document or any other written or printed material in any form, and includes any information stored, maintained or preserved by means of any mechanical, photographic or electronic device whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in a legible form, but does not include so much of any record that is of a medical nature.

(2) A Revenue Commissioner may, subject to subsection (3) and for the purposes of subsection (7), direct an authorised officer to investigate a class or classes of policies issued by an assurance company and the policyholders to whom they were issued.

(3) Directions may be given by a Revenue Commissioner under subsection (2) where he or she forms the opinion that there are circumstances suggesting that a class of policy or classes of policies issued by an assurance company may have been issued to policyholders, some of whom have paid one or more than one premium in respect of any policy concerned out of income or gains which were required to be, but were not, included in a return made by those policyholders under the Tax Acts or the Capital Gains Tax Acts; and for the purposes of this subsection the Revenue Commissioner may take into consideration information in relation to policies issued by other assurance companies and the policyholders of such policies.

(4) An authorised officer, when investigating a class or classes of policies and the policyholders to whom they were issued, may at all reasonable times, enter any premises or place of business of an assurance company to inspect the relevant records held by the assurance company in respect of a sample of policies of that class or those classes and the policyholders of those policies.

(5) Where an authorised officer has entered any premises or place of business of an assurance company for the purposes of this section, he or she may require the assurance company, or any employee of the assurance company, to produce the relevant records in a form which is legible and to furnish such information and explanations as the authorised officer requires in relation to the relevant records.

(6) Where in accordance with this section an authorised officer inspects relevant records he or she may copy or make extracts from those records.

(7) Information obtained by an authorised officer from inspecting relevant records may only be used for the purposes of enabling an authorised officer, within the meaning of section 902A, to make an application under that section to a judge of the High Court.”.

Amendment of Chapter 1 (income tax and corporation tax penalties) of Part 47 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

141. —(1) Chapter 1 of Part 47 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 1053—

(i) in subsection (1)(ii) by deleting “the amount or, in the case of fraud, twice”, and

(ii) in subsection (1A)(b) by deleting “the amount or, in the case of fraud, twice”,

and

(b) in section 1054, in subsection (3)(a)(i)(II) by deleting “the amount or, in the case of fraud, twice”.

(2) This section applies to returns, statements, declarations, or accounts delivered, made or, as the case may be, submitted on or after the passing of this Act.

Amendment of section 1078 (revenue offences) of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

142. The Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended in section 1078—

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

“(1A) (a) In this subsection—

‘facilitating’ means aiding, abetting, assisting, inciting or inducing;

‘fraudulent evasion of tax by a person’ means the person—

(a) evading or attempting to evade any payment or deduction of tax required under the Acts to be paid by the person or, as the case may be, required under the Acts to be deducted from amounts due to the person, or

(b) claiming or obtaining, or attempting to claim or obtain, relief or exemption from, or payment or repayment of, any tax, being relief, exemption, payment or repayment, to which the person is not entitled under the Acts,

where, for those purposes, the person deceives, omits, conceals or uses any other dishonest means including—

(i) providing false, incomplete or misleading information, or

(ii) failing to furnish information,

to the Revenue Commissioners or to any other person.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection and subsection (5) a person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned person’) is reckless as to whether or not he or she is concerned in facilitating—

(i) the fraudulent evasion of tax by a person, being another person, or

(ii) the commission of an offence under subsection (2) by a person, being another person,

if the first-mentioned person disregards a substantial risk that he or she is so concerned, and for those purposes ‘substantial risk’ means a risk of such a nature and degree that, having regard to all the circumstances and the extent of the information available to the first-mentioned person, its disregard by that person involves culpability of a high degree.

(c) A person shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the person may be liable, be guilty of an offence under this section if the person—

(i) is knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of tax by the person or any other person,

(ii) is knowingly concerned in, or is reckless as to whether or not the person is concerned in, facilitating—

(I) the fraudulent evasion of tax, or

(II) the commission of an offence under subsection (2) (other than an offence under paragraph (b) of that subsection),

by any other person, or

(iii) is knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion or attempted fraudulent evasion of any prohibition or restriction on importation for the time being in force, or the removal of any goods from the State, in contravention of any provision of the Acts.”,

(b) in subsection (2)—

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

“(f) fails to pay to the Collector-General appropriate tax (within the meaning of section 739E) within the time specified in that behalf in section 739F,”,

(ii) in paragraph (i) by substituting “by the Acts,” for “by the Acts, or”, and

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

“(ii) (i) fails to deduct tax required to be deducted by the person under section 531(1), or

(ii) fails, having made that deduction, to pay the sum deducted to the Collector-General within the time specified in that behalf in section 531(3A),

or”,

and

(c) in subsection (5) by substituting “to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any recklessness (as provided for by subsection (1A)(b)) on the part of” for “to have been committed with the consent or connivance of”.

Amendment of section 1086 (publication of names of tax defaulters) of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

143. —(1) Section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsection (4)(c) by substituting “€30,000” for “€12,700”, and

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

“(4A) (a) In this subsection—

‘the consumer price index number’ means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office;

‘the consumer price index number relevant to a year’ means the consumer price index number at the mid-December before the commencement of that year expressed on the basis that the consumer price index at mid-December 2001 was 100;

‘the Minister’ means the Minister for Finance.

(b) The Minister shall, in the year 2010 and in every fifth year thereafter, by order provide, in accordance with paragraph (c), an amount in lieu of the amount referred to in subsection (4)(c), or where such an order has been made previously, in lieu of the amount specified in the last order so made.

(c) For the purposes of paragraph (b) the amount referred to in subsection (4)(c) or in the last previous order made under the said paragraph (b), as the case may be, shall be adjusted by—

(i) multiplying that amount by the consumer price index number relevant to the year in which the adjustment is made and dividing the product by the consumer price index number relevant to the year in which the amount was previously provided for, and

(ii) rounding the resulting amount up to the next €1,000.

(d) An order made under this subsection shall specify that the amount provided for by the order—

(i) takes effect from a specified date, being 1 January in the year in which the order is made, and

(ii) does not apply to any case in which the specified liability referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) includes tax, the liability in respect of which arose before, or which relates to periods which commenced before, that specified date.”.

(2) Subsection (1)(a) shall not apply where the specified liability referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) of section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 includes tax, the liability in respect of which arose before, or which relates to periods which commenced before, 1 January 2005.

Amendment of Chapter 3A (Implementation of Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on Taxation of Savings Income in the Form of Interest Payments and Related Matters) of Part 38 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

144. —(1) Chapter 3A (Implementation of Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on Taxation of Savings Income in the Form of Interest Payments and Related Matters) of Part 38 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 898B(1) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “the Directive”:

“ ‘the Directive’ means Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 20031 as amended;”,

(b) in sections 898F(5)(c) and 898G(6)(c) by substituting “1 July 2005” for “1 January 2005”,

(c) in section 898G(3)(a)(iii) by substituting “territory” for “relevant territory”,

(d) in section 898H—

(i) by substituting the following for the matter immediately preceding paragraph (a) in subsection (1):

“Every paying agent shall, as respects an interest payment made for the immediate benefit of a beneficial owner on or after 1 July 2005 who is resident in a relevant territory, make and deliver to the Revenue Commissioners within 3 months of the end of a tax year (being the tax year 2005 and subsequent years) a return of all interest payments, as respects the tax year 2005, so made during the period 1 July 2005 to 31 December 2005 by that paying agent and, as respects any other tax year, so made by that paying agent during that year consisting of—”,

and

(ii) by substituting the following for paragraph (b) of subsection (4):

“(b) (i) (I) the total amount of interest payments which are within the meaning of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of subsection (1) of section 898E, and

(II) the total amount of interest payments which are within the meaning of paragraphs (f) and (h) of that subsection,

or

(ii) in a case where the paying agent is a residual entity—

(I) the total amount of deemed interest payments which are within the meaning of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of subsection (1) of section 898E, and

(II) the total amount of deemed interest payments which are within the meaning of paragraphs (f) and (h) of that subsection.”,

(e) in section 898I by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) the total amount of the interest payments so made or so secured by it in the tax year (and for this purpose the tax year 2005 shall be deemed to begin on 1 July 2005 and end on 31 December 2005).”,

(f) by substituting the following for subsections (1) to (3) of section 898M—

“(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where tax has been deducted from an interest payment in a relevant territory under provisions applicable in such territory in accordance with the Directive or the arrangements and—

(a) the interest payment is, or but for an exemption or relief from tax would be, taken into account in computing the total income of an individual for the tax year in which the tax was deducted for the purposes of income tax, and

(b) the individual is resident in the State for that tax year,

then—

(i) the individual may claim a credit for the tax deducted from the payment against any income tax chargeable on that individual for that year and, in determining the amount of tax payable on the individual's total income for that year, credit shall be given for the tax deducted from the interest payment and the amount of the credit shall be the amount of tax deducted from the interest payment, and

(ii) where—

(I) the tax deducted from the interest payment exceeds any such income tax chargeable, the excess shall be repaid, or

(II) no such income tax is chargeable, an amount equal to the tax deducted from the interest payment shall be repaid to the individual.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where tax has been deducted from an interest payment in a relevant territory under provisions applicable in such territory in accordance with the Directive or the arrangements and—

(a) the interest payment is, or but for an exemption or relief from tax would be, taken into account in computing the chargeable gains of an individual for the tax year in which the tax was deducted for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, and

(b) the individual is resident in the State for that tax year,

then—

(i) the individual may claim a credit for the tax deducted from the payment against the capital gains tax chargeable on that individual for that year and, in determining the amount of tax payable on the chargeable gains of that individual for that year, credit shall be given for the tax deducted from the interest payment and the amount of the credit shall be the amount of tax deducted from the interest payment, and

(ii) where—

(I) the tax deducted exceeds any such capital gains tax, the excess shall be repaid to the individual, or

(II) no such capital gains tax is chargeable, an amount equal to the tax deducted shall be repaid to the individual.

(3) (a) The credit referred to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, shall apply only after the application of any other credit to which the individual may be entitled under any arrangement made under section 826 in respect of any tax deducted from the payment under provisions other than those referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

(b) Subsection (1) or (2) shall not apply where—

(i) the individual referred to in the subsection concerned has obtained relief under the law of a territory outside the State in respect of tax that has been deducted from an interest payment in a relevant territory under provisions applicable in such territory in accordance with the Directive or the arrangements, and

(ii) the individual was resident in that territory or was treated as being resident in that territory under arrangements made under section 826 for the year of assessment in which the tax was deducted.”,

(g) in section 898O by substituting the following for subsection (1):

“(1) Where any person required to make a return under this Chapter—

(a) fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any of the requirements of section 898F or 898G,

(b) makes an incorrect or incomplete return under this Chapter, or

(c) fails, without reasonable excuse, to make such a return,

that person shall be liable to a penalty of €19,045 and, in the case of paragraphs (a) and (c), if the failure continues that person shall be liable to a further penalty of €2,535 for each day on which the failure continues.”,

(h) by substituting the following for section 898P:

“Arrangements with third countries and dependent and associated territories of Member States.

898P.—(1) This Chapter shall apply for the purposes of implementing any arrangements made with a territory being a dependent or associated territory of a Member State (in this Chapter referred to as the ‘arrangements’) in relation to the automatic exchange of information and the application of a withholding tax referred to in paragraph 2(ii) of Article 17 of the Directive.

(2) (a) In this subsection—

‘Council Decision on signing of agreement with Andorra’ means Council Decision (2004/828/EC) of 2 November 2004 concerning the signature of the Agreement between the European Community and the Principality of Andorra providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the approval and signature of the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding1 ;

‘Council Decision on signing of agreement with Liechtenstein’ means Council Decision (2004/897/EC) of 29 November 2004 on the signing of the Agreement between the European Community and the Principality of Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the approval and signing of the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding2 ;

‘Council Decision on signing of agreement with Monaco’ means Council Decision (2005/35/EC) of 7 December 2004 on the signing of the Agreement between the European Community and the Principality of Monaco providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the approval and signing of the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding3 ;

‘Council Decision on signing of agreement with San Marino’ means Council Decision (2004/903/EC) of 29 November 2004 on the signing of the Agreement between the European Community and Republic of San Marino providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the approval and signing of the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding4 ;

‘Council Decision on signing and conclusion of agreement with the Swiss Confederation’ means Council Decision (2004/911/EC) of 2 June 2004 on the signing and conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding5 .

(b) (i) Article 12 (Exchange of information on request) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Andorra,

(ii) Article 10 (Exchange of information) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Liechtenstein,

(iii) Article 12 (Transmission of information on request) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Monaco,

(iv) Article 13 (Exchange of information on request) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with San Marino, and

(v) Article 10 (Exchange of information) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing and conclusion of agreement with the Swiss Confederation,

shall, notwithstanding any other enactment, have the force of law.

(c) Section 898M shall apply for the purposes of implementing—

(i) Article 10 (Elimination of double taxation) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Andorra,

(ii) Article 9 (Elimination of double taxation) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Liechtenstein,

(iii) Article 10 (Elimination of double taxation and/or repayment of withholding tax) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Monaco,

(iv) Article 10 (Elimination of double taxation) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with San Marino, and

(v) Article 9 (Elimination of double taxation) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing and conclusion of agreement with the Swiss Confederation,

in the same way as it applies for the purposes of the Directive or the arrangements, and references in that section to tax deducted from an interest payment in a relevant territory under provisions applicable in such territory in accordance with the Directive or the arrangements shall be construed as references to—

(I) in the case of Liechtenstein or the Swiss Confederation, as the case may be, a retention from an interest payment under provisions applicable in that country in accordance with the agreement, and

(II) in the case of Andorra, Monaco or San Marino, as the case may be, tax withheld from an interest payment under provisions applicable in that country in accordance with the agreement,

and references to tax deducted and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

(d) (i) The Revenue Commissioners may make regulations generally for the purposes of implementing the provisions of any arrangements the Government may make with the Government of any of the countries referred to in article 17(2)(i) of the Directive for the purposes of supplementing paragraph (b).

(ii) For the purposes of subparagraph (i), arrangements made with the head of a State shall be regarded as made with the Government of that State.

(e) Section 898L shall apply for the purposes of Article 9 (Voluntary disclosure) of the agreement attached to the Council Decision on signing of agreement with Andorra in the same way as it applies for the purposes of the Directive.”,

and

(i) in section 898R by substituting—

(i) “898O” for “898P” in subsection (1),

(ii) the following for subsection (2):

“(2) Section 898O shall apply as respects an act or omission which takes place or begins on or after the date of the passing of the Finance Act 2005.”,

and

(iii) “1 July 2005” for “1 January 2005” in subsection (3).

(2) Section 912A(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by substituting the following for the definition of “foreign tax”:

“ ‘foreign tax’ means a tax chargeable under the laws of a territory in relation to which arrangements (in this section referred to as ‘the arrangements’) having the force of law by virtue of section 826, 898P(2) or section 106 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 apply;”.

(3) This section applies as on and from the date of the passing of this Act.

Interest on certain overdue tax.

145. —(1) Chapter 5 of Part 47 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by substituting the following for sections 1080 and 1081:

“Interest on overdue income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax.

1080.—(1) In this section—

‘chargeable period’ has the same meaning as in section 321(2);

‘chargeable person’ has the same meaning as in section 950(1);

‘period of delay’, in relation to any tax due and payable, means the period during which that tax remains unpaid;

‘Table’ means the Table to subsection (2);

‘tax’ means income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax, as appropriate;

‘relevant period’, in relation to a period of delay which falls into more than one of the periods specified in column (1) of the Table, means any part of the period of delay which falls into, or is the same as, a period specified in that column.

(2) (a) Subject to this section and section 1081—

(i) as respects tax due and payable for a chargeable period beginning before 1 January 2005, any tax charged by any assessment to tax shall carry interest from the date when the tax becomes due and payable until payment, and

(ii) as respects tax due and payable for a chargeable period beginning on or after 1 January 2005, any tax due and payable by a chargeable person for a chargeable period shall carry interest from the date when the tax becomes due and payable until payment,

and the amount of that interest shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (c).

(b) Subject to this section and section 1081, any tax charged by any assessment to income tax shall, notwithstanding any appeal against such assessment, carry interest from the date when, if there were no appeal against the assessment, the tax would become due and payable under section 960 until payment, and the amount of that interest shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (c).

(c) The interest to be carried by the tax referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, shall be—

(i) where one of the periods specified in column (1) of the Table includes or is the same as the period of delay, the amount determined by the formula—

T × D × P

where—

T is the tax due and payable which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the period of delay, and

P is the appropriate percentage in column (2) of the Table opposite the period specified in column (1) of the Table within which the period of delay falls or which is the same as the period of delay,

and

(ii) where a continuous period formed by 2 or more of the periods specified in column (1) of the Table, but not (as in subparagraph (i)) only one such period, includes or is the same as the period of delay, the aggregate of the amounts due in respect of each relevant period which forms part of the period of delay, and the amount due in respect of each such relevant period shall be determined by the formula—

T × D × P

where—

T is the tax due and payable which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the relevant period, and

P is the appropriate percentage in column (2) of the Table opposite the period specified in column (1) of the Table into which the relevant period falls or which is the same as the relevant period.

TABLE

(Period)

(1)

(Percentage)

(2)

From 6 April 1963 to 31 July 1971

0.0164%

From 1 August 1971 to 30 April 1975

0.0246%

From 1 May 1975 to 31 July 1978

0.0492%

From 1 August 1978 to 31 March 1998

0.041%

From 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2005

0.0322%

From 1 April 2005 to the date of payment

0.0273%

(3) The interest payable under this section—

(a) shall be payable without deduction of income tax and shall not be allowed as a deduction in computing any income, profits or losses for any of the purposes of the Tax Acts, and

(b) shall be deemed to be a debt due to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund and shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners.

(4) Subject to subsection (5)—

(a) every enactment relating to the recovery of tax,

(b) every rule of court so relating,

(c) section 81 of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 , and

(d) sections 98 and 285 of the Companies Act 1963 ,

shall apply to the recovery of any amount of interest payable on that tax as if that amount of interest were a part of that tax.

(5) In proceedings instituted by virtue of subsection (4)—

(a) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners certifying that a stated amount of interest is due and payable by the person against whom the proceedings were instituted shall be evidence until the contrary is proven that that amount is so due and payable, and

(b) a certificate so certifying and purporting to be signed as specified in this subsection may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed until the contrary is proved to have been signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners.

Effect on interest of reliefs given by discharge or repayment.

1081.—(1) Subject to subsection (2)—

(a) where for any year of assessment or accounting period, as the case may be, relief from any tax referred to in section 1080(2) is given to any person by a discharge of any of that tax, such adjustment shall be made of the amount of interest payable under that section in relation to that tax, and such repayment shall be made of any amounts of interest previously paid under that section in relation to that tax, as are necessary to secure that the total sum, if any, paid or payable under that section in relation to that tax is the same as it would have been if the tax discharged had never been due and payable, and

(b) where relief from tax paid for any year of assessment or accounting period, as the case may be, is given to any person by repayment, that person shall be entitled to require that the amount repaid shall be treated for the purposes of this subsection to the extent possible as if it were a discharge of the tax charged on that person (whether alone or together with other persons) by any assessment for the same year or period; but the relief shall not be applied to any assessment made after the relief was given and shall not be applied to more than one assessment so as to reduce without extinguishing the amount of tax charged thereby.

(2) No relief, whether by discharge or repayment, shall be treated as affecting any tax charged by an assessment to—

(a) income tax or any income tax due and payable unless it is a relief from income tax,

(b) corporation tax or any corporation tax due and payable unless it is a relief from corporation tax, or

(c) capital gains tax or capital gains tax due and payable unless it is a relief from capital gains tax.”.

(2) Section 1082 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following after subsection (5):

“(6) This section shall not apply as respects any tax due and payable for a year of assessment or an accounting period beginning on or after 1 January 2005.”.

(3) Part 11 of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 is amended by inserting the following after Chapter 7:

Chapter 8

Calculation of interest on unpaid duty and other amounts

Calculation of interest on unpaid duty and other amounts.

159D.—(1) In this section—

‘period of delay’, in relation to any unpaid duty or other amount referred to in a specified provision, means the period referred to in the specified provision in respect of which period interest is chargeable, charged, payable or recoverable, as the case may be, in accordance with that provision;

‘specified provision’ means any section of this Act other than section 126(7) which provides for interest to be charged, chargeable, payable or recoverable, as the case may be, in respect of any unpaid duty or other amount due and payable under that section.

(2) The amount of interest charged, chargeable, payable or recoverable in respect of any unpaid duty or other amount due and payable or recoverable under a specified provision shall be the amount determined by the formula—

A × D × P

where—

A is the duty or other amount due and payable under the specified provision which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the period of delay, and

P is 0.0273 per cent.”.

(4) (a) Section 51 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 is amended by substituting the following for subsection (2):

“(2)(a) Simple interest is payable, without the deduction of income tax, on the tax from the valuation date to the date of payment, and the amount of that interest shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (c).

(b) Interest payable in accordance with paragraph (a) is chargeable and recoverable in the same manner as if it were part of the tax.

(c) (i) In this paragraph—

‘period of delay’, in relation to any tax due and payable, means the period during which that tax remains unpaid;

‘relevant period’, in relation to a period of delay which falls into more than one of the periods specified in column (1) of Part 1 of the Table, means any part of the period of delay which falls into, or is the same as, a period specified in that column;

‘Table’ means the Table to this subsection.

(ii) The interest payable in accordance with paragraph (a), shall be—

(I) where one of the periods specified in column (1) of Part 1 of the Table includes or is the same as the period of delay, the amount determined by the formula—

T × D × P

where—

T is the tax due and payable which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the period of delay, and

P is the appropriate percentage in column (2) of the Table opposite the period specified in column (1) of Part 1 of the Table within which the period of delay falls or which is the same as the period of delay,

and

(II) where a continuous period formed by 2 or more of the periods specified in column (1) of Part 1 of the Table, but not (as in clause (I)) only one such period, includes or is the same as the period of delay, the aggregate of the amounts due in respect of each relevant period which forms part of the period of delay, and the amount due in respect of each such relevant period shall be determined by the formula—

T × D × P

where—

T is the tax due and payable which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the relevant period, and

P is the appropriate percentage in column (2) of Part 1 of the Table opposite the period specified in column (1) of Part 1 of the Table into which the relevant period falls or which is the same as the relevant period.

TABLE

Part 1

(Period)

(1)

(Percentage)

(2)

From 31 March 1976 to 31 July 1978

0.0492%

From 1 August 1978 to 31 March 1998

0.0410%

From 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2005

0.0322%

From 1 April 2005 to the date of payment

0.0273%

Part 2

(Period)

(1)

(Percentage)

(2)

From 8 February 1995 to 31 March 1998

0.0307%

From 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2005

0.0241%

From 1 April 2005 until the date of payment

0.0204%

(2A) For the purposes of calculating interest on the whole or the part of the tax to which section 55 applies, subsection (2) shall apply as if references in that subsection to Part 1 of the Table were references to Part 2 of the Table.”.

(b) Section 55 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (b) of subsection (2):

“(b) notwithstanding subsection (2) of section 51, the interest payable on that whole or part of the tax shall be determined—

(i) in accordance with that subsection as modified by subsection (2A) of that section, or

(ii) in such other manner as may be prescribed by the Minister for Finance by regulations,

instead of in accordance with subsection (2) of that section, and that section shall apply as regards that whole or part of the tax as if the interest so payable were determined under that section, but the interest payable on any overdue instalment of that whole or part of that tax, or on such part of the tax as would represent any such overdue instalment if that whole or part of the tax were being paid by instalments, shall continue to be determined in accordance with subsection (2) of section 51.”.

(5) (a) This subsection applies to interest payable under—

(i) section 18(2) of the Wealth Tax Act 1975 ,

(ii) section 105(1) of the Finance Act 1983 , and

(iii) section 117 of the Finance Act 1993 .

(b) Where any interest to which this subsection applies is chargeable on or after 1 April 2005 in respect of tax due to be paid whether before, on or after that date, then such interest shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment, be chargeable at the rate of 0.0273 per cent per day or part of a day instead of at the rate specified in that other enactment and the sections referred to in paragraph (a) shall have effect as if for interest so chargeable that rate were substituted for the rate specified in each of those sections.

(6) (a) The provisions set out in paragraph (b) are, in so far as they are not already repealed, repealed with effect from 1 April 2005 to the extent that they apply to interest chargeable or payable on income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, gift tax and inheritance tax that has not been paid before that date regardless of when that tax became due and payable.

(b) The provisions referred to in paragraph (a) are—

(i) section 14 of the Finance Act 1962 ;

(ii) sections 550, 551 and 552 of the Income Tax Act 1967;

(iii) section 17 of the Finance Act 1971 ;

(iv) section 28 of the Finance Act 1975 ;

(v) section 41 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act 1976 ;

(vi) sections 43 and 46 of the Finance Act 1978 ;

(vii) the provisions of section 1083 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 except in so far as they apply section 1082 of that Act to capital gains tax;

(viii) section 133 of the Finance Act 1998 ; and

(ix) section 129 of the Finance Act 2002 .

(7) (a) In each provision of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 set out in column (1) of Part 1 of Schedule 5 for the words in that provision which are set out in column (2) of that Part there shall be substituted the words set out opposite the entry in column (3) of that Part.

(b) In each provision of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 set out in column (1) of Part 2 of Schedule 5 for the words in that provision which are set out in column (2) of that Part there shall be substituted the words set out opposite the entry in column (3) of that Part.

(8) (a) Subsections (1) and (7)(a) apply to any unpaid income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax, as the case may be, that has not been paid before 1 April 2005 regardless of when that tax becomes due and payable and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other enactment other than section 1082 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , but subsection (1) shall not apply to the part, if any, before 1 January 1963 of any period of delay (within the meaning of section 1080 of that Act as substituted by this section).

(b) Subsection (2) applies and shall be deemed to have always applied from 1 January 2005.

(c) Subsections (3) and (7)(b) apply as respects interest to be charged, chargeable, payable or recoverable, as the case may be, for any day or part of a day on or after 1 April 2005 in respect of any unpaid stamp duty or other amount due under the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 which is due to be paid whether before, on or after 1 April 2005.

(d) Subsection (4) applies to any unpaid gift tax or inheritance tax, as the case may be, that has not been paid before 1 April 2005 regardless of when that tax becomes due and payable and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other enactment.

Amendment of section 964 (continuance of pending proceedings) of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

146. Section 964 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended by substituting the following for subsection (1):

“(1)  (a) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of section 966, where the Collector-General duly appointed to collect any income tax has instituted proceedings under section 963 or 966, or continues under this section any proceedings brought under those sections, for the recovery of such tax and, while such proceedings are pending, such Collector-General ceases for any reason to be the Collector-General so appointed to collect such tax, the proceedings may be continued in the name of that Collector-General by any person (in this subsection referred to as the ‘successor’) duly appointed to collect such tax in succession to that Collector-General or any subsequent Collector-General.

(b) In any case where paragraph (a) applies, the successor shall inform by notice the person or persons against whom the proceedings concerned are pending that those proceedings are being so continued and on service of such notice, notwithstanding any rule of court, it shall not be necessary for the successor to obtain an order of court substituting him or her for the Collector-General who has instituted or continued the proceedings.

(c) Any affidavit or oath to be made by a Collector-General for the purposes of the Judgment Mortgage (Ireland) Act 1850 or the Judgment Mortgage (Ireland) Act 1858 may be made by a successor.”.

Miscellaneous technical amendments in relation to tax.

147. —The enactments specified in Schedule 6 are amended to the extent and in the manner specified in that Schedule.

Capital Services Redemption Account.

148. —(1) In this section—

“capital services” has the same meaning it has in the principal section;

“fifty-third additional annuity” means the sum charged on the Central Fund under subsection (3);

“principal section” means section 22 of the Finance Act 1950 .

(2) In relation to the twenty-nine successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on 31 December 2005, subsection (3) of section 92 of the Finance Act 2004 shall have effect with the substitution of “€0.00” for “€80,533,677”.

(3) A sum of €43,454,359 to redeem borrowings, and interest on such sum, in respect of capital services shall be charged annually on the Central Fund or the growing produce of that Fund in the thirty successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on 31 December 2005.

(4) The fifty-third additional annuity shall be paid into the Capital Services Redemption Account in such manner and at such times in the relevant financial year as the Minister for Finance may determine.

(5) Any amount of the fifty-third additional annuity, not exceeding €33,400,000 in any financial year, may be applied towards defraying the interest on the public debt.

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

Care and management of taxes and duties.

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

Short title, construction and commencement.

150. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Finance Act 2005 .

(2) Part 1 shall be construed together with—

(a) in so far as it relates to income tax, the Income Tax Acts,

(b) in so far as it relates to corporation tax, the Corporation Tax Acts, and

(c) in so far as it relates to capital gains tax, the Capital Gains Tax Acts.

(3) Part 2, in so far as it relates to duties of excise, shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to those duties and to the management of those duties.

(4) Part 3 shall be construed together with the Value-Added Tax Acts 1972 to 2004 and may be cited together with those Acts as the Value-Added Tax Acts 1972 to 2005.

(5) Part 4 shall be construed together with the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(6) Part 5 shall be construed together with the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(7) Part 6 in so far as it relates to—

(a) income tax, shall be construed together with the Income Tax Acts,

(b) corporation tax, shall be construed together with the Corporation Tax Acts,

(c) capital gains tax, shall be construed together with the Capital Gains Tax Acts,

(d) customs, shall be construed with the Custom Acts,

(e) duties of excise, shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to duties of excise and the management of those duties,

(f) value-added tax, shall be construed together with the Value-Added Tax Acts 1972 to 2005,

(g) stamp duty, shall be construed together with the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 , and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(h) residential property tax, shall be construed together with Part VI of the Finance Act 1983 , and the enactments amending or extending that Part,

(i) gift tax or inheritance tax, shall be construed together with, the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

(8) Except where otherwise expressly provided in Part 1, that Part is deemed to have come into force and takes effect as on and from 1 January 2005.

(9) Except where otherwise expressly provided for, where a provision of this Act is to come into operation on the making of an order by the Minister for Finance, that provision shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance shall appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(10) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except in 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.

(11) In this Act, a reference to a Part, section or Schedule is to a Part or section of, or Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(12) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause or subclause is to the subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause or subclause of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

1OJ No. L157, 26.6.2003, p.38

1OJ No. L359, 4.12.2004, p.32

2OJ No. L379, 24.12.2004, p. 83

3OJ No. L19, 21.1.2005, p.53

4OJ No. L381, 28.12.2004, p.32

5OJ No. L385, 29.12.2004, p.28