Finance Act 2017
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .
num: 2
paragraphs: (1) Section 531AN of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (3)—
(i) by substituting “€19,372” for “€18,772”, and
(ii) by substituting “2 per cent” for “2.5 per cent”,
(b) in subsection (3A)(a) by substituting “2 per cent” for “2.5 per cent”,
(c) in subsection (4) by substituting “2020” for “2018”, and
(d) by substituting the following Table for the Table to that section:
“TABLE
PART 1
Part of aggregate income
Rate of universal social charge
(1)
(2)
The first €12,012
num: 0
paragraphs: 5 per cent
The next €7,360
2 per cent
The next €50,672
num: 4
paragraphs: 75 per cent
The remainder
8 per cent
PART 2
Part of aggregate income
Rate of universal social charge
(1)
(2)
The first €12,012
num: 0
paragraphs: 5 per cent
The remainder
2 per cent
”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies for the year of assessment 2018 and each subsequent year of assessment.
num: 3
paragraphs: As respects the year of assessment 2018 and subsequent years of assessment section 15 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (3)(i), by substituting “€25,550” for “€24,800”, and
(b) by substituting the following Table for the Table to that section:
“TABLE
PART 1
Part of taxable income
(1)
Rate of tax
(2)
Description of rate
(3)
The first €34,550
20 per cent
the standard rate
The remainder
40 per cent
the higher rate
PART 2
Part of taxable income
(1)
Rate of tax
(2)
Description of rate
(3)
The first €38,550
20 per cent
the standard rate
The remainder
40 per cent
the higher rate
PART 3
Part of taxable income
(1)
Rate of tax
(2)
Description of rate
(3)
The first €43,550
20 per cent
the standard rate
The remainder
40 per cent
the higher rate
”.
num: 4
paragraphs: (1) Section 466A of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€1,200” for “€1,100”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies for the year of assessment 2018 and each subsequent year of assessment.
num: 5
paragraphs: (1) Section 472AB of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2)—
(a) in paragraph (a), by substituting “€1,150” for “€950”, and
(b) in paragraph (b), by substituting “€1,150” for “€950”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies for the year of assessment 2018 and each subsequent year of assessment.
num: 6
paragraphs: Section 244 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (1)(a) by substituting the following for the definition of “qualifying interest”:
“‘qualifying interest’, in relation to an individual and a year of assessment, means—
(i) as respects a year of assessment before 2018, the amount of interest paid by the individual in respect of a qualifying loan,
(ii) as respects the year of assessment 2018, 75 per cent of the amount of interest paid by the individual in respect of a qualifying loan,
(iii) as respects the year of assessment 2019, 50 per cent of the amount of interest paid by the individual in respect of a qualifying loan, and
(iv) as respects the year of assessment 2020, 25 per cent of the amount of interest paid by the individual in respect of a qualifying loan;”,
(b) in subsection (1A)(b) by substituting “2020” for “2017”,
(c) in subsection (2)(a)(ii) by substituting “2020” for “2017”, and
(d) by inserting the following after subsection (10):
“(11) For the purposes of the application of this section, the definition of ‘relievable interest’ in subsection (1)(a) has effect as if—
(a) in subparagraph (i) of that definition—
(i) as respects the year of assessment 2018, ‘€4,500’,
(ii) as respects the year of assessment 2019, ‘€3,000’, and
(iii) as respects the year of assessment 2020, ‘€1,500’,
were substituted for ‘€6,000’,
(b) in subparagraph (ii) of that definition—
(i) as respects the year of assessment 2018, ‘€2,250’,
(ii) as respects the year of assessment 2019, ‘€1,500’, and
(iii) as respects the year of assessment 2020, ‘€750’,
were substituted for ‘€3,000’,
(c) in subparagraph (iii) of that definition—
(i) as respects the year of assessment 2018, ‘€15,000’,
(ii) as respects the year of assessment 2019, ‘€10,000’, and
(iii) as respects the year of assessment 2020, ‘€5,000’,
were substituted for ‘€20,000’, and
(d) in subparagraph (iv) of that definition—
(i) as respects the year of assessment 2018, ‘€7,500’,
(ii) as respects the year of assessment 2019, ‘€5,000’, and
(iii) as respects the year of assessment 2020, ‘€2,500’,
were substituted for ‘€10,000’.”.
num: 7
paragraphs: Part 5 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in Chapter 3, by inserting the following after section 118(5G):
“(5H) Subsection (1) shall not apply to expense incurred by the body corporate in, or in connection with, the provision, for a director or employee, in any of its business premises, of a facility for the electric charging of vehicles, where all the employees and directors of that body corporate can avail of the facility.”,
and
(b) in Chapter 4—
(i) in section 121—
(I) in subsection (1)(a), by inserting the following after the definition of “car”:
“ ‘electric vehicle’ means a vehicle that derives its motive power exclusively from an electric motor;”,
and
(II) in subsection (2)(b)—
(A) in subparagraph (i), by deleting “and”,
(B) in subparagraph (ii), by substituting “car, and” for “car.”, and
(C) by inserting the following after subparagraph (ii):
“(iii) notwithstanding subparagraph (ii), no amount shall be treated as emoluments of the employment where the car provided is—
(I) an electric vehicle, and
(II) provided during the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.”,
and
(ii) in section 121A—
(I) in subsection (1), by inserting the following definition:
“ ‘electric vehicle’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 121;”,
and
(II) in subsection (2)(b)—
(A) in subparagraph (i), by deleting “and”,
(B) in subparagraph (ii), by substituting “van, and” for “van.”, and
(C) by inserting the following after subparagraph (ii):
“(iii) notwithstanding subparagraph (ii), no amount shall be treated as emoluments of the employment where the van provided is—
(I) an electric vehicle, and
(II) provided during the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.”.
num: 8
paragraphs: Chapter 1 of Part 5 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 112A:
“Taxation of certain perquisites: employees of authorised insurers and tied health insurance agents
112AA. (1) In this section—
‘authorised insurer’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 470;
‘emoluments’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 983;
‘employee’ includes an office holder and any person who is an employee within the meaning of section 983;
‘relevant contract’ means a contract of insurance, or any other agreement, arrangement or transaction, as the case may be, which provides specifically, whether in conjunction with other benefits or not, for the reimbursement or discharge, in whole or in part, of—
(a) actual health expenses (within the meaning of section 469), being a contract of medical insurance, or
(b) dental expenses other than expenses in respect of routine dental treatment (within the meaning of section 469), being a contract of dental insurance;
‘relevant contract price’ is the amount that would be payable, by an individual who is neither a relevant employee nor connected with a relevant employee, under a relevant contract, by way of a bargain made at arm’s length, before deducting any amount the individual would have been entitled to deduct and retain by virtue of section 470(3)(a);
‘relevant employee’ means an employee of—
(a) an authorised insurer,
(b) a tied health insurance agent, or
(c) any person connected with a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);
‘tied health insurance agent’ means any person who, directly or indirectly, enters into an agreement or arrangement with an authorised insurer—
(a) whereby that person undertakes to refer all proposals of insurance, made under a relevant contract, to the authorised insurer with whom the person has made or entered into the agreement or arrangement, or
(b) which restricts in any way that person’s freedom to refer proposals of insurance, made under a relevant contract, to an authorised insurer other than the authorised insurer with whom the agreement or arrangement has been made or entered into.
(2) This section applies where—
(a) a relevant employee enters into a relevant contract, or
(b) an individual connected with a relevant employee enters into a relevant contract,
arising from, or in connection with, the employment of the relevant employee.
(3) Where this section applies in relation to a relevant contract—
(a) an amount determined by the formula—
(A - B)
where—
A is the relevant contract price for the year, and
B is the sum of the amount paid, if any, for the year by the relevant employee and the connected individual, under the relevant contract,
shall be treated as emoluments of the employment of the relevant employee in a year of assessment,
(b) Chapter 3 of this Part shall not apply, and
(c) section 112A shall not apply to the relevant employee or the employer of the relevant employee.
(4) Where an amount is treated as emoluments in a year of assessment under this section—
(a) for the purposes of section 470, the amount (referred to in this subsection and subsection (5) as the ‘notional payment amount’) shall be treated as if it was an amount paid—
(i) under the relevant contract concerned to an authorised insurer by the relevant employee concerned, and
(ii) in the year of assessment,
and
(b) subject to subsection (5), notwithstanding that the payment of the notional payment amount is deemed under paragraph (a) to occur after 6 April 2001—
(i) section 470(3) shall not apply to the notional payment amount, and
(ii) section 470(2) shall apply to the notional payment amount as if the relevant employee concerned had made a payment under a relevant contract of that amount to an authorised insurer.
(5) Where an amount (in this subsection referred to as the ‘actual payment amount’) is paid under the relevant contract concerned by the relevant employee concerned or an individual connected to that employee—
(a) section 470(2) shall apply subject to the following modifications:
(i) a reference to a payment shall be construed as a reference to an amount being the sum of the notional payment amount and the actual payment amount;
(ii) the amount by which the income tax to be charged on the individual for the year of assessment, other than in accordance with section 16(2), is reduced shall itself be reduced by the percentage of the relevant contract price which the actual payment amount represents,
and
(b) section 470(3) shall apply subject to the following modifications:
(i) a reference to a payment shall be construed as a reference to an amount being the sum of the notional payment amount and the actual payment amount;
(ii) the amount the individual shall be entitled to deduct and retain shall be reduced by the percentage of the relevant contract price which the notional payment amount represents.”.
num: 9
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended in Part 2 of the Table to section 458 by inserting the following after “Section 472”:
“Section 472AB
Section 472BA”.
num: 10
paragraphs: (1) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 128E:
“128F. (1) In this section—
‘connected persons’ shall be construed in accordance with section 10;
‘control’ shall be construed in accordance with section 432;
‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992, as adjusted by all subsequent amendments to that Agreement;
‘EEA state’ means a state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;
‘emoluments’ has the same meaning as in section 983;
‘excluded activities’ means—
(a) adventures or concerns in the nature of trade,
(b) dealing in commodities or futures in shares, securities or other financial assets,
(c) financial activities,
(d) professional services companies,
(e) dealing in or developing land,
(f) building and construction,
(g) forestry, and
(h) operations carried out in the coal industry or in the steel and shipbuilding sectors;
‘financial activities’ has the same meaning as in section 488;
‘market value’ shall be construed in accordance with section 548;
‘option price’ means a predetermined price at which an employee or director can purchase a share at some time in the future;
‘ordinary shares’ means shares forming part of a company’s ordinary share capital;
‘professional services’ means—
(a) services of a medical, dental, optical, aural or veterinary nature,
(b) services of an architectural, quantity surveying or surveying nature, and related services,
(c) services of accountancy, auditing, taxation or finance,
(d) services of a solicitor or barrister and other legal services, and
(e) geological services;
‘qualifying company’ means, subject to subsection (10), a company that—
(a) is incorporated in the State, or in an EEA state other than the State, and 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,
num: 11
paragraphs: Section 285A(1) of the Principal Act is amended in the definition of “relevant period” by substituting “31 December 2020” for “31 December 2017”.
num: 12
paragraphs: (1) Chapter 2 of Part 9 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 285A:
“Acceleration of wear and tear allowances for childcare and fitness centre equipment
285B. (1) In this section—
‘qualifying expenditure’ means capital expenditure incurred on qualifying machinery or plant by a person carrying on a qualifying trade;
‘qualifying machinery or plant’ means machinery or plant in use in a qualifying premises;
‘qualifying premises’ has the same meaning as it has in section 843B;
‘qualifying trade’ has the same meaning as it has in section 843B.
(2) Where a person has incurred qualifying expenditure, and for any chargeable period a wear and tear allowance is to be made under section 284, subsection (2) of that section shall apply as if the reference in paragraph (ad) of that subsection to 12. 5 per cent were a reference to 100 per cent.”.
(2) (a) Part 36 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 843A:
“Capital allowances for buildings used for the purposes of providing childcare services or a fitness centre to employees
843B. (1) In this section—
‘childcare services’ means any form of childminding services or supervised activities to care for children, whether or not provided on a regular basis, in respect of which it can be shown that the applicable requirements of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 ( S.I. No. 221 of 2016 ) have been complied with;
‘construction’ has the same meaning as it has in section 270;
‘fitness centre’ means a gymnasium used exclusively in providing a range of facilities designed to improve and maintain the physical fitness and health of participants;
‘qualifying expenditure’ means expenditure incurred by an employer, carrying on a qualifying trade or a profession, on the construction of a qualifying premises;
‘qualifying premises’ means a building or structure which is in use for the purposes of providing either childcare services or the facilities of a fitness centre to employees of the employer referred to in the immediately preceding definition, and where that employer is a company, whether the employees of that company or of a company connected with that company;
‘qualifying trade’ means a trade, other than a trade which consists of the provision of childcare services or a trade which consists wholly or partly of the provision of the facilities of a fitness centre.
(2) The provisions of the Tax Acts relating to the making of allowances or charges in respect of capital expenditure incurred on the construction of an industrial building or structure shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in those provisions, apply in relation to qualifying expenditure on a qualifying premises—
(a) as if the qualifying premises were, at all times at which it is a qualifying premises, a building or structure in respect of which an allowance is to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter 1 of Part 9 by reason of its use for the purpose specified in section 268(1)(a), and
(b) where any activity carried on in the qualifying premises is not a trade, as if (for the purposes only of the making of allowances and charges by virtue of paragraph (a)), it were a trade.
(3) In relation to qualifying expenditure incurred on a qualifying premises, section 272 shall apply as if—
(a) in subsection (3)(a)(ii) of that section the reference to 4 per cent were a reference to 15 per cent, and
(b) in subsection (4)(a) of that section the following were substituted for subparagraph (ii):
‘(ii) where capital expenditure on the construction of the building or structure is incurred, 7 years beginning with the time when the building or structure was first used subsequent to the incurring of that expenditure.’.
(4) Notwithstanding section 274(1), no balancing allowance or balancing charge shall be made in relation to a qualifying premises by reason of any event, referred to in that section, which occurs more than 7 years after the qualifying premises was first used subsequent to the incurring of the qualifying expenditure on the construction of the qualifying premises.
(5) Where relief is given by virtue of this section in relation to qualifying expenditure incurred on the construction of a building or structure, relief shall not be given in respect of that expenditure under any other provision of the Tax Acts.
(6) A person shall not be entitled to allowances under this section while that person is regarded as an undertaking in difficulty for the purposes of the Commission Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty 14 .”.
num: 13
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 97:
“97A. (1) In this section—
‘specified day’ means the day falling on or after the date of the passing of the Finance Act 2017 on which a vacant premises is first let as a residential premises after the end of the period during which it is not occupied;
‘specified period’, in relation to a vacant premises, means the period of 12 months ending the day before the specified day;
‘vacant premises’ means any premises that is not occupied for the entire of the period of 12 months immediately before the specified day.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), this section shall apply to expenditure incurred by the person chargeable on or before 31 December 2021 on a vacant premises.
num: 14
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 579 by substituting the following for subsection (6):
“(6) This section shall not apply—
(a) in relation to a loss accruing to the trustees of the settlement, or
(b) where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time when the charge to capital gains tax arises, genuine economic activities are carried on by the settlement in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)).”,
(b) in section 579A by substituting the following for subsection (9A):
“(9A) This section shall not apply where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time when the charge to capital gains tax arises, genuine economic activities are carried on by the settlement in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)).”,
(c) in section 590(7) by substituting the following for paragraph (aa):
“(aa) a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of an asset where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time of the disposal, genuine economic activities are carried on by the company in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)),”,
and
(d) in section 806(11) by substituting the following for paragraph (b):
“(b) Where a non-resident person is resident in a relevant Member State, subsection (10) shall apply as if the following were substituted for paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of that subsection:
‘(b) Subsections (4) and (5) shall not apply where the individual concerned shows in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that genuine economic activities are carried on by the non-resident person in the relevant Member State.’.”.
num: 15
paragraphs: (1) Section 664 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsections (1) and (7), by substituting “EU Basic Payment Scheme” for “EU Single Payment Scheme”, and
(b) in subsection (8), by substituting the following for paragraphs (a) and (b):
“(a) a qualifying lessee of the lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first mentioned lease’), or a person connected with that qualifying lessee of the first mentioned lease, is a qualifying lessor of another qualifying lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘second mentioned lease’) where the qualifying lessor of the first mentioned lease is a qualifying lessee of the second mentioned lease,
(b) a qualifying lessee of the lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first mentioned lease’) is a qualifying lessor of another qualifying lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘second mentioned lease’) where that qualifying lessor of the first mentioned lease, or a person connected with that qualifying lessor, is a qualifying lessee of the second mentioned lease, or”.
(2) Subsection (1)(b) shall come into operation on 2 November 2017.
num: 16
paragraphs: (1) Section 488 of the Principal Act is amended, in the definition of “associate”, by deleting “, except that the reference in paragraph (b) of that subsection to any relative of a participator shall be excluded from such meaning”.
(2) Section 492 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (4)—
(i) by substituting “if the individual, or an associate of the individual,” for “if he or she”, and
(ii) by substituting “to acquire any of” for “to acquire more than 30 per cent of”,
(b) in subsection (6)(a)—
(i) by substituting “if the individual, or an associate of the individual,” for “if he or she”, and
(ii) by substituting “to receive any of” for “to receive more than 30 per cent of”,
and
(c) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (8):
“(8) For the purposes of subsections (4) and (6)(a), no account shall be taken of—
(a) shares in the company concerned which are held by the individual concerned where—
(i) that individual was entitled to relief under this Part in respect of the acquisition of those shares, and
(ii) that individual, or a person connected with that individual, does not at any time in the specified period control (within the meaning of section 432) the company concerned,
or
(b) shares subscribed for upon the formation of the company concerned where—
(i) the company has issued no shares other than those subscribed for on formation, and
(ii) the company has not yet commenced carrying on, or made preparations for the carrying on of, any trade or business.”.
(3) This section shall have effect as respects shares issued on or after 2 November 2017.
num: 17
paragraphs: Part 26 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 710(1)—
(i) in paragraph (b) by substituting “;” for “.”, and
(ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):
num: 18
paragraphs: Chapter 1A of Part 27 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section:
“Electronic account filing requirement
739FA. (1) In this section, ‘electronic means’ includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometric, photonic means of transmission of data and other forms of related technology by means of which data is transmitted.
(2) The Revenue Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may make regulations under this section with respect to the provision by—
(a) an investment undertaking, or
(b) where the investment undertaking is an umbrella scheme, a sub-fund of that scheme,
of financial statements, prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting practice specified in the prospectus of the investment undertaking to the Revenue Commissioners by electronic means.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), regulations under this section may, in particular, include provisions—
(a) specifying the investment undertaking, group of investment undertakings or class of investment undertakings, including sub-funds of umbrella schemes where relevant, to which the regulation applies,
(b) determining the date in any year by which the financial statements required to be made under the regulations shall be provided to the Revenue Commissioners,
(c) prescribing the electronic means by which the financial statements are to be delivered,
(d) prescribing the format in which the financial statements are to be delivered, and
(e) specifying such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary—
(i) to enable persons to fulfil their obligations under the regulations, or
(ii) for the general administration and implementation of the regulations.
(4) Where a person on whom the obligation concerned is imposed under regulations under this section—
(a) fails to provide financial statements by the date required by those regulations, or
(b) provides financial statements in a form other than that required by those regulations,
that person shall be liable to a penalty of €1,520.
(5) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before DÃ¡il Ãireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by DÃ¡il Ãireann within the next 21 days on which DÃ¡il Ãireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.”.
num: 19
paragraphs: (1) Chapter 1B of Part 27 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 739K—
(i) in subsection (1)—
(I) in paragraph (c) of the definition of “IREF assets”, by inserting “, which are actively and substantially traded on such stock exchange,” after “stock exchange”,
(II) by deleting paragraph (a) of the definition of “IREF excluded profits”,
(III) by inserting the following after the definition of “IREF withholding tax”:
“ ‘PRSA’ means a Personal Retirement Savings Account within the meaning of section 787A;”,
(IV) by inserting the following after the definition of “purchased IREF profits”:
“ ‘qualifying intermediary’ means an intermediary (within the meaning of section 739B(1)) who is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under—
(a) before 3 January 2018, the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 60 of 2007 ), and
(b) on and after 3 January 2018, the European Union (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 ( S.I. No. 375 of 2017 );”,
(V) in the definition of “specified person”—
(A) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):
“(a) a fund approved under section 774, 784(4) or 785(5), an approved retirement fund within the meaning of section 784A, an approved minimum retirement fund within the meaning of section 784C, a PRSA (including a vested PRSA within the meaning of section 790D(1)) or a person exempt from income tax under section 790B (collectively referred to in this Chapter as ‘pension schemes’),”,
(B) by substituting the following for paragraph (b):
“(b) an investment undertaking, or, where appropriate, a sub-fund that is a unit holder in another sub-fund of the same umbrella scheme,”,
(C) in paragraph (f), by substituting “pension scheme” for “scheme” and “pension schemes” for “schemes”, and
(D) in paragraph (g), by substituting “valid declaration made by the unit holder or, where applicable under subsection (1A), by the qualifying intermediary,” for “valid declaration,”,
and
(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (1):
num: 20
paragraphs: (1) Section 110(5A) of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in paragraph (a)—
(i) in the definition of “specified mortgage”—
(I) in paragraph (b) by inserting “or” after “sub-participation transaction,”,
(II) in paragraph (c) by substituting “;” for “, or”, and
(III) by deleting paragraph (d),
and
(ii) by substituting the following for the definition of “specified property business”:
“ ‘specified property business’, in relation to a qualifying company, means the whole, or part, of the business of the qualifying company that involves the holding, managing or both the holding and managing of—
(a) specified mortgages,
(b) units in an IREF (within the meaning of Chapter 1B of Part 27), or
(c) shares that derive their value from, or the greater part of their value from, directly or indirectly, land in the State,
and shall not include—
(i) a CLO transaction,
(ii) a CMBS/RMBS transaction,
(iii) a loan origination business,
(iv) a sub-participation transaction, or
(v) activities which are preparatory to the transactions or business mentioned in subparagraphs (i) to (iv),
where the qualifying company, in respect of subparagraph (i) or (ii), apart from activities incidental or preparatory to that transaction or business, carries on no other activities;”,
and
(b) in paragraph (b)—
(i) in subparagraph (i)—
(I) by substituting “shares, a loan or specified agreement” for “a loan or specified agreement”, and
(II) in clause (I) by substituting “specified mortgage, units in an IREF or shares referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘specified property business’ in paragraph (a)” for “specified mortgage”,
and
(ii) in subparagraph (ii)—
(I) by substituting “each share holding, loan or specified agreement” for “each loan or specified agreement”, and
(II) by substituting “specified mortgage, units in an IREF or shares referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘specified property business’ in paragraph (a), as the case may be,” for “specified mortgage”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to interest or other distribution payable on or after 19 October 2017.
num: 21
paragraphs: Section 769K of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (2) by substituting “a company” for “a relevant company”, and
(b) by inserting the following after subsection (2):
“(3) For the purposes of determining the amount of relief available for relevant trading charges or relevant trading losses, as the case may be, after the making of a claim for relief under any of the provisions referred to in subsection (2) as applied by that subsection (in this subsection referred to as ‘the first-mentioned claim’), the amount of relevant trading charges or relevant trading losses, as the case may be, available for any subsequent claims shall be reduced by 200 per cent of the amount claimed under the first-mentioned claim.”.
num: 22
paragraphs: (1) Section 76A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):
“(3) (a) In this subsection—
(i)‘accounting policy’, ‘a change in accounting policy’, ‘accounting standard’, ‘retrospective’ and ‘opening reserves’ shall be construed in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice;
(ii)‘relevant period’ means the accounting period beginning on the first day of the period of account in which the change in accounting policy, referred to in paragraph (b), is adopted for the first time.
(b) This subsection shall apply to a change in accounting policy other than on the adoption of—
(i) an accounting standard for the first time, or
(ii) an amendment of an accounting standard for the first time.
num: 23
paragraphs: (1) Section 135 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2)—
“(2A) No consideration derived from any share capital or security of a company (being a close company within the meaning of section 430 and in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned company’) issued to another company (being a close company within the meaning of section 430 and in this subsection referred to as the ‘second-mentioned company’) in exchange for the issue of shares or securities by the second-mentioned company shall be regarded for the purposes of this Chapter as new consideration received by the second-mentioned company in so far as it exceeds any new consideration received by the first-mentioned company for the issue of the said share capital or security.”,
and
(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3)—
“(3A) Where a member of a company (being a close company within the meaning of section 430 and in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned company’), or a person connected with that member, enters into arrangements directly or indirectly with another company (being a close company within the meaning of section 430 and in this subsection referred to as the ‘second-mentioned company’), whereby a member (in this subsection referred to as the ‘disposing member’), of the first-mentioned company disposes of an interest in shares or securities of the first-mentioned company and the consideration for the acquisition of those shares or securities is paid or to be paid directly or indirectly out of the assets of the first-mentioned company, any amount received directly or indirectly by the disposing member from the second-mentioned company in respect of the disposal shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as a distribution made by the first-mentioned company to that member at the time of the payment by the second-mentioned company, and this subsection shall apply however many companies participate in the arrangements.”.
(2) This section shall come into operation on 2 November 2017.
num: 24
paragraphs: (1) Part 8 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 243(8), by substituting “subsections (2A), (2B)” for “subsections (2A)”,
(b) in section 247(1)(a) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “control”:
“ ‘intermediate holding company’ means a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of stocks, shares or securities and is, in relation to an investee company referred to in subsection (2)(a)(iv), a company through which the investee company holds stocks, shares or securities in a company referred to in subsection (2)(a)(i);”,
(c) in section 247(2)—
(i) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):
“(a) in acquiring any part of the ordinary share capital of—
(i) a company which exists wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying on a trade or trades,
num: 25
paragraphs: (1) Section 291A of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (5), by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b):
“(c) Where the trade of a company consists wholly of the carrying on of relevant activities (within the meaning of paragraph (a)), then the trade shall, for the purposes of subsection (6), be treated as a relevant trade.”,
and
(b) in subsection (6)(a), by substituting “exceed 80 per cent of” for “exceed”.
(2) (a) Subsection (1)(a) is deemed to have applied in respect of capital expenditure incurred by a company on or after 8 May 2009.
(b) Subsection (1)(b) applies to capital expenditure incurred by a company on or after 11 October 2017.
num: 26
paragraphs: (1) Section 29 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1A)(c)(i) by inserting “or other assets (apart from relevant assets)” after “money”.
(2) This section applies to disposals made on or after 19 October 2017.
num: 27
paragraphs: (1) Section 626B of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (3A):
“(3B) (a) In this subsection—
‘arrangement’ includes any agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions;
‘relevant assets’ means the assets specified in subsection (3)(d).
(b) In calculating the portion of the value of shares attributable directly or indirectly to relevant assets, account shall not be taken of any arrangement that—
(i) involves a transfer of money or other assets (apart from relevant assets) from a person connected with the company in which those shares are held,
(ii) is made before a disposal of relevant assets, and
(iii) the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of tax.”.
(2) This section applies to disposals made on or after 19 October 2017.
num: 28
paragraphs: (1) Section 980 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):
“(2A) (a) In this subsection—
‘arrangement’ includes any agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions;
‘relevant assets’ means assets specified in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c).
(b) In calculating the portion of the value of shares attributable directly or indirectly to relevant assets for the purposes of subsection (2)(d), account shall not be taken of any arrangement that—
(i) involves a transfer of money or other assets (apart from relevant assets) from a person connected with the company in which those shares are held,
(ii) is made before a disposal of relevant assets, and
(iii) the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of tax.”.
(2) This section applies to disposals made on or after 19 October 2017.
num: 29
paragraphs: (1) Section 604B of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (3):
“(3A) Where an individual is entitled to relief in respect of the whole or part of a gain under subsection (2) or (3), as the case may be, the individual shall furnish to the Revenue Commissioners, on a form provided for that purpose, the following information to enable the Revenue Commissioners to calculate the amount of the gain that would have arisen if the relief had not applied:
(a) his or her name and address;
(b) the consideration paid for the qualifying land, sold or exchanged by him or her, when that land was acquired by him or her;
(c) the consideration received by him or her for the qualifying land on the sale of that land and the consideration paid by him or her for the other qualifying land purchased by him or her;
(d) in the case of an exchange of qualifying land, the market value of the qualifying land conveyed or transferred by him or her for the purposes of the exchange and the market value of the other qualifying land received by him or her in exchange for that land; and
(e) the incidental costs (within the meaning of section 552(2)) relating to the acquisition, sale or exchange of the qualifying land referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d).
(3B) For the purposes of subsection (3A)(b), the provisions of section 547(1) shall apply where the land was acquired otherwise than by means of a bargain made at arm’s length.”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to disposals made on or after 1 July 2016.
num: 30
paragraphs: (1) Section 597AA of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (2)(b)—
(i) in subparagraph (ii), by substituting “land,” for “land, or”,
(ii) in subparagraph (iii), by substituting “chargeable gains,” for “chargeable gains.”, and
(iii) by inserting the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (iii)—
“(iv) subject to subsection (8), goodwill which is disposed of directly or indirectly to a company, where, immediately following the disposal, the individual is connected with the company, or
(v) subject to subsection (8), shares or securities in a company which are disposed of directly or indirectly to another company, where, immediately following the disposal, the individual is connected with the first-mentioned company.”,
and
(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (5):
“(6) Subject to section 600 and subsection (8), this section shall not apply to such portion of the chargeable gain or gains accruing in respect of a disposal or disposals by a relevant individual of chargeable business assets which form part of a transfer to which section 600 applies as bears the same proportion to the total of such gains as the value of the consideration received by the relevant individual out of the assets of the company in respect of the transfer bears to the value of the consideration received by the relevant individual other than by way of shares or securities in respect of such transfer.
(7) Where a relevant individual enters into arrangements, the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of which is to secure that the relevant individual is not connected with a company for the purpose of either or both of subparagraphs (iv) or (v) of subsection (2)(b), this section shall not apply.
(8) Subsections (2)(b)(iv), (2)(b)(v) and (6) shall not apply in relation to a disposal of assets where it would be reasonable to consider that the disposal is made for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of any arrangement or scheme the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of liability to tax.”.
(2) Section 598 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “chargeable business asset”, by substituting the following for “other than an asset on the disposal of which no gain accruing would be a chargeable gain;”:
“other than—
(I) an asset on the disposal of which no gain accruing would be a chargeable gain,
(II) subject to subsection (1)(f), goodwill which is disposed of directly or indirectly to a company, where, immediately following the disposal the individual is connected with the company, or
(III) subject to subsection (1)(f), shares or securities in a company which are disposed of directly or indirectly to another company where, immediately following the disposal, the individual is connected with the first-mentioned company;”,
(b) in subsection (1), by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (e)—
“(f) Goodwill, shares or securities referred to in clauses (II) and (III) of the definition of ‘chargeable business asset’ shall be treated as chargeable business assets where it would be reasonable to consider that a disposal of such assets is made for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of any arrangement or scheme the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of liability to tax.”,
and
(c) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (7A):
“(7B) Where an individual enters into arrangements, the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of which is to secure that the individual is not connected with a company for the purpose of either or both of clauses (II) or (III) in the definition of ‘chargeable business asset’, the individual will be deemed to be connected with that company for the purpose of either or both of clauses (II) or (III) as the case may be.
(7C) Subject to section 600 and subsection (7D), this section shall not apply to such portion of the chargeable gain or gains accruing in respect of a disposal or disposals by an individual of qualifying assets which form part of a transfer to which section 600 applies as bears the same proportion to the total of such gains as the value of the consideration received by the individual out of the assets of the company in respect of the transfer bears to the value of the consideration received by the individual other than by way of shares or securities in respect of such transfer.
(7D) Subsection (7C) shall not apply in relation to a disposal of assets where it would be reasonable to consider that the disposal is made for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of any arrangement or scheme the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of liability to tax.”.
(3) Section 599 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (5) by substituting “Subject to subsection (7), the consideration” for “The consideration”, and
(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (6):
“(7) Where there is—
(a) a disposal of shares or securities of a family company by an individual referred to in subparagraph (iia) or (iii) of subsection (1)(b) to his or her child, and
(b) a disposal of shares or securities of the family company by the individual to a company controlled by that child,
the consideration for the disposals referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be aggregated for the purpose of section 598(3).”.
(4) This section shall come into operation on 2 November 2017.
num: 31
paragraphs: Part 20 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 616(1)(a) by substituting “sections 617(5), 621(1) and 623(7)” for “section 621(1)”,
(b) in section 617 by inserting the following after subsection (4):
“(5) For the purposes of this section, a ‘group of companies’ shall include only companies which, by virtue of the law of a relevant Member State or other territory with the government of which arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1) have been made, are resident for the purposes of tax in such Member State or territory, as the case may be, and for this purpose ‘tax’, in relation to a relevant Member State or such territory, other than the State, means any tax imposed in the Member State or territory which corresponds to corporation tax in the State.”,
and
(c) in section 623 by inserting the following after subsection (6):
“(7) For the purposes of this section, a ‘group of companies’ shall include only companies which, by virtue of the law of a relevant Member State or other territory with the government of which arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1) have been made, are resident for the purposes of tax in such Member State or territory, as the case may be, and for this purpose ‘tax’, in relation to a relevant Member State or such territory, other than the State, means any tax imposed in the Member State or territory which corresponds to corporation tax in the State.”.
num: 32
paragraphs: (1) Section 613 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (1) by inserting the following after paragraph (c):
“(ca) any sum obtained by means of compensation under the 2017 Voluntary Homeowners Relocation Scheme administered by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland under section 2 of the Commissioners of Public Works (Functions and Powers) Act 1996 ;”,
and
(b) in subsection (7) by inserting the following after paragraph (a):
“(aa) No chargeable gain shall arise on a disposal of land (including a right of turbary) to the Minister referred to in paragraph (a) where that land has been acquired by that Minister for the purposes of granting a right of turbary to an individual who—
(i) is entitled to compensation under the scheme referred to in paragraph (a), and
(ii) enters into an agreement with that Minister in respect of that land (or any estate, right or interest in or over that land).”.
(2) This section applies with effect from 19 October 2017.
num: 33
paragraphs: (1) Section 604A of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (2)(b) by substituting “4 years” for “7 years”,
(b) by inserting the following after subsection (2):
“(2A) Where a person disposes of land or buildings to which this section applies during the period beginning 4 years after the date they were acquired and ending 7 years after that date, any gain on the disposal of such land or buildings shall not be a chargeable gain.”,
(c) in subsection (3) by substituting “Without prejudice to subsection (2A), on” for “On”, and
(d) in subsection (4)—
(i) by substituting “subsection (2A) or (3)” for “subsection (3)”,
(ii) in paragraph (a) by substituting “in the period from” for “in the period of 7 years from”, and
(iii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “subsection (2A) or (3), as the case may be” for “subsection (3)”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to disposals made on or after 1 January 2018.
num: 34
paragraphs: (1) Section 598 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):
“(2A) (a) In this subsection ‘solar panel’ means ground-mounted equipment used to capture solar energy and convert it into electrical energy, together with ancillary equipment used to harness, store and transfer the electrical energy.
(b) Notwithstanding that solar panels are installed on land which is suitable for farming purposes, the land shall be treated as a qualifying asset for the purposes of subsection (2) where the area of the land on which the solar panels are installed does not exceed half the total area of the land concerned.”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to disposals made on or after 1 January 2018.
num: 35
paragraphs: In this Chapter and in Schedule 4—
“accounting period” means a period of 2 calendar months or such other period as the Commissioners may prescribe for the purposes of payment and returns under section 39 ;
“added sugar” means—
(a) sugar, or
(b) substances containing sugar, except for juices,
that is or are combined with other ingredients in the production or manufacture of prepacked ready to consume sugar sweetened drinks or prepacked concentrated sugar sweetened drinks;
“CN Code” means a Community subdivision to the combined nomenclature of the European Communities referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87 of 23 July 198715 as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1821/2016 of 6 October 2016 16 ;
“Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;
“concentrated” means a prepacked liquid or solid that requires preparation before consumption as a beverage;
“exporter” means a person who supplies sugar sweetened drinks on a commercial basis outside the State where the sugar sweetened drinks have been acquired in the State by that person;
“food information” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 17 on the provision of food information to consumers;
“food supplement” has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities (Food Supplements) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 506 of 2007 );
“first supplied”, where express provision is not made in this behalf, means the first time a supply is made within the State by a supplier;
“juice” means any fruit or vegetable juice falling within CN Code heading 2009 that does not contain added sugar;
“label” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers;
“officer” means an officer of the Commissioners;
“prepacked” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers;
“preparation” means the addition of water, ice or carbon dioxide, or any combination of these substances, in a manner detailed on the label, packaging or accompanying documentation of the sugar sweetened drink, to give rise to a beverage that is ready to consume;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Commissioners under section 45 ;
“ready to consume” means intended for direct consumption by a consumer;
“related company” has the meaning assigned to it by the Companies Act 2014 ;
“sugar” has the meaning assigned to it by Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers;
“sugar content” means the number of grams of sugar per 100 millilitres of sugar sweetened drink in ready to consume form;
“sugar sweetened drink” means—
(a) a prepacked, ready to consume beverage, containing added sugar and which falls within CN Code headings 2009 and 2202 except for beverages falling within CN Code subheadings 2202 91 00, 2202 99 11, 2202 99 15, 2202 99 91, 2202 99 95, 2202 99 99 and alcohol free wines falling within CN Code subheading 2202 99 19, other than—
(i) food supplements, or
(ii) products exempted by the European Union (Provision of Food Information to Consumers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2016 ) from requirements to provide specific food information on labels, packaging or accompanying documentation,
(b) a prepacked, concentrated substance in liquid or solid form, containing added sugar, which requires preparation before consumption by the final consumer and which, after such preparation, has the same characteristics as beverages referred to in paragraph (a), other than—
(i) food supplements, or
(ii) products exempted by the European Union (Provision of Food Information to Consumers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2016 ) from requirements to provide specific food information on labels, packaging or accompanying documentation,
or
(c) a beverage prepared from a substance referred to in paragraph (b) and which is ready to consume;
“supplier” means—
(a) except where paragraph (b) applies, a taxable person within the meaning of section 2 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 , or
(b) an accountable person for the purposes of Part 2 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 ,
who supplies sugar sweetened drinks;
“supply” means the supply of a quantity of sugar sweetened drink to another person, other than—
(a) the supply or self-supply of a beverage prepared from a prepacked concentrated sugar sweetened drink for private domestic use,
(b) the supply of sugar sweetened drinks between related companies, or
(c) the supply of a beverage prepared from a prepacked concentrated sugar sweetened drink which has already been supplied in the State;
“tax” means sugar sweetened drinks tax within the meaning of section 36 .
15OJ No. L256, 7.9.1987, p.1
16OJ No. L294, 6.10.2016, p.1
17OJ No. L304, 22.11.2011, p.18-63
num: 36
paragraphs: (1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter and any regulations made under it, a duty of excise, to be known as sugar sweetened drinks tax, shall be charged, levied and paid at the rates specified in Schedule 4 on each sugar sweetened drink, with a sugar content of 5 grams or more per 100 millilitres, supplied in the State by a supplier.
(2) For the purposes of the charge to sugar sweetened drinks tax, the sugar content of a sugar sweetened drink shall be that which is stated in, or can be ascertained from, the food information set out on the label or packaging of, or the accompanying documentation for, the drink concerned.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where a sugar sweetened drink is first supplied in a concentrated form or in a ready to drink form prepared from a concentrated form, then the sugar content shall be ascertained on the basis of the sugar content of the ready to consume beverage resulting from preparation in accordance with manufacturer’s or producer’s instructions provided on the label, packaging or accompanying documentation for the concentrated sugar sweetened drink concerned.
num: 37
paragraphs: Tax shall be charged at the time the sugar sweetened drink is first supplied in the State by a supplier and that supplier shall be accountable for and liable to pay the tax charged.
num: 38
paragraphs: (1) Before making a supply of a sugar sweetened drink, being the first supply of the sugar sweetened drink by the supplier, a supplier shall (if not already so registered) register with the Commissioners in accordance with such procedures as the Commissioners may prescribe or otherwise require.
(2) An exporter who intends to claim relief under section 40 shall, prior to the first export of sugar sweetened drinks, register with the Commissioners in accordance with such procedures as the Commissioners may prescribe or otherwise require; a reference in this Chapter to a registered exporter is a reference to an exporter who is registered with the Commissioners in accordance with those procedures.
num: 39
paragraphs: (1) For the purposes of section 37 , a supplier shall within one month after the end of an accounting period, in respect of the sugar sweetened drinks supplied in that accounting period, furnish to an officer a return in such form as the Commissioners may require showing—
(a) the quantity of ready to consume sugar sweetened drinks supplied by the supplier in that period, and
(b) the quantity of ready to consume beverages that would result from the preparation of the quantity of concentrated sugar sweetened drinks supplied by the supplier in that period.
(2) The supplier shall, in accordance with the return under subsection (1) and by the time that return is due, pay the amount of tax due in respect of the accounting period concerned.
num: 40
paragraphs: Subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may prescribe or otherwise impose, a full relief from the tax shall be granted to a registered exporter in respect of any sugar sweetened drinks that are shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to have been supplied outside the State by that registered exporter.
num: 41
paragraphs: Subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may prescribe or otherwise impose, a repayment of tax may be granted in respect of any sugar sweetened drinks, for which tax has been paid, that are shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to have been returned to the liable supplier.
num: 42
paragraphs: (1) Where a supply qualifies under sections 40 and 41 a repayment of that tax shall be made to the relevant person.
(2) (a) Claims for repayment under subsection (1) shall be in such form as the Commissioners may direct and shall be submitted to the Commissioners within a period of not less than 1 month and not more than 6 calendar months after the end of the accounting period in which the supplies were made.
(b) Except where the Commissioners may in any particular case otherwise allow, a repayment may not be made unless the claim is made within 6 calendar months following the end of the period in respect of which the claim for repayment is made.
num: 43
paragraphs: Every supplier and exporter of sugar sweetened drinks shall maintain such records for such periods as the Commissioners may prescribe and shall produce those records for inspection to a Revenue officer where the officer so requests.
num: 44
paragraphs: (1) It is an offence under this subsection for any person to contravene or fail to comply with any provision of this Chapter, or any regulation made under section 45 , or any condition imposed under this Chapter, or under such regulation in relation to such provision.
(2) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which a person may be liable, a person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on summary conviction, to a class A fine.
(3) Where an offence under subsection (1) is committed by a body corporate and the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of any person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or who purported to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.
(4) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (3) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager.
num: 45
paragraphs: The Commissioners may, for the purposes of managing, securing and collecting the tax, or for the protection of the revenue derived from it, make regulations.
num: 46
paragraphs: The tax imposed by this Chapter is placed under the care and management of the Commissioners.
num: 47
paragraphs: This Chapter comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.
num: 48
paragraphs: Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2001 is amended in section 138 by substituting the following for subsection (2):
“(2) For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), a receptacle includes, but is not limited to, a bag, parcel, carton, item of luggage, container or other thing that may be used in the storage or transport of a good but does not include any article of clothing worn by the person concerned.”.
num: 49
paragraphs: The Finance Act 2005 is amended with effect as on and from 11 October 2017 by substituting the following for Schedule 2 (as amended by section 36 of the Finance Act 2016 (No. 18 of 2016)) to that Act:
num: 50
paragraphs: Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2002 is amended—
(a) in section 64, by inserting the following after the definition of “remote bookmaker’s licence”:
“ ‘remote means’ has the same meaning as it has in section 1 of the Betting Act 1931 ;”,
and
(b) in section 68(1)(b), by substituting “remote means” for “any means of telecommunications”.
num: 51
paragraphs: Section 137A of the Finance Act 2001 is amended in subsection (4)(b) by inserting “or an additive” after “fuel”.
num: 52
paragraphs: Section 99A(5) of the Finance Act 1999 is amended—
(a) in paragraph (b) by substituting “obligations,” for “obligations, or,”,
(b) in paragraph (c) by substituting “obligations, or” for “obligations.”, and
(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (c):
“(d) the qualifying road transport operator is regarded as an undertaking in difficulty for the purposes of the Commission Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty 18 .”.
18OJ No. C249, 31.7.2014, p.1
num: 53
paragraphs: (1) Section 130 of the Finance Act 1992 is amended—
(a) by substituting the following for the definition of “category A vehicle”:
“ ‘category A vehicle’ means—
(a) a category M1 vehicle, or
(b) a category N1 vehicle, that has 4 or more seats and to which a BE bodywork code has not been assigned;”,
(b) by substituting the following for the definition of “category B vehicle”:
“ ‘category B vehicle’ means—
(a) a category N1 vehicle that has 3 seats or less,
(b) a category N1 vehicle to which a BE bodywork code has been assigned, or
(c) a motor caravan;”,
and
(c) by inserting the following definition:
“ ‘BE bodywork code’ means a bodywork code assigned to a vehicle at type approval stage where—
(a) the vehicle has a maximum mass not exceeding 3,500 kilograms, and
(b) the seating positions and the cargo area of the vehicle are not located in a single compartment;”.
(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on 31 July 2018.
num: 54
paragraphs: Section 135D of the Finance Act 1992 is amended in subsection (2) by—
(a) deleting “and” in paragraph (a),
(b) substituting “section 141, and” for “section 141.” in paragraph (b), and
(c) inserting the following after paragraph (b):
“(c) notwithstanding paragraph (a), not exceed the amount of vehicle registration tax paid on the registration of the vehicle under section 131.”.
num: 55
paragraphs: In this Part “Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 .
num: 56
paragraphs: Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended in paragraph 21, with effect from 1 January 2018, by substituting the following for subparagraph (1):
“(1) Services consisting of the care of the human body, including services supplied in the course of a health studio business or similar business, but excluding the following:
num: 57
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 120, by inserting the following after subsection (13):
num: 58
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 2, by inserting the following before the definition of “customs-free airport”:
“ ‘Customs Acts’ has the meaning given to it by section 2 (3) of the Customs Act 2015 ;”,
(b) in section 11(2)(b), by substituting “Chapters 2A and 2B of Part 2 of Finance Act 2001 ” for “Chapter II of Part II of the Finance Act 1992 ”,
(c) in section 53(3), by substituting “Customs Acts” for “ Customs Consolidation Act 1876 , and other law in force in the State relating to customs,”,
(d) in section 66(4C)(b), by substituting “section 71” for “section 71(1)”,
(e) in section 101(6), by deleting paragraph (ba),
(f) in section 116(22), by substituting “officer of Customs” for “officer of Customs and Excise”,
(g) in section 120(18), by deleting paragraph (a),
num: 59
paragraphs: In this Part “Principal Act” means the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 .
num: 60
paragraphs: (1) Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in the heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities or a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance.”—
(i) in paragraph (4), by substituting “6 per cent” for “2 per cent”, and
(ii) in paragraph (5)(a)(ii)—
(I) by substituting “1 January 2021” for “1 January 2018”,
(II) by deleting “and the individual by whom the farm is being conveyed or transferred has not, at the date of conveyance or transfer attained the age of 67 years”, and
(III) by substituting “1 per cent of the consideration which is attributable to property which is not residential property” for “a duty of an amount equal to one-half of the ad valorem stamp duty which, but for the provisions of this paragraph, would be chargeable under this heading”,
and
(b) in the heading “LEASE.”—
(i) in paragraph (1), by substituting “€40,000” for “€30,000”, and
(ii) in paragraph (3)(b), by substituting “6 per cent” for “2 per cent”.
(2) Subsection (1)(a)(i) and (a)(ii)(III) and (b)(ii)—
(a) shall have effect as respects instruments executed on or after 11 October 2017, and
(b) shall not have effect as respects any instrument executed before 1 January 2018, where—
(i) the effect of the application of subsection (1) would be to increase the duty otherwise chargeable on the instrument, and
(ii) the instrument contains a statement, in such form as the Revenue Commissioners may specify, certifying that the instrument was executed solely in pursuance of a binding contract entered into before 11 October 2017.
(3) Subsection (1)(a)(ii)(I) and (II) and (b)(i) come into operation on the passing of this Act.
(4) The furnishing of an incorrect certificate for the purposes of subsection (2) shall be deemed to constitute the delivery of an incorrect statement for the purposes of section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .
num: 61
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 83C:
“83D. (1) (a) In this section—
‘appropriate part’, in relation to land, means the whole or, as the case may be, the part of the land to which the relevant residential development, the subject of a claim for repayment under this section, relates;
‘building control authority’ has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Building Control Act 1990 ;
‘completion certificate’ means a Certificate of Compliance (within the meaning of article 5 of the Regulations of 1997)—
(a) submitted on completion to a building control authority, and
(b) the particulars of which are entered by that authority on the register maintained under Part IV of the Regulations of 1997,
in accordance with article 20F of those Regulations;
‘commencement notice’ means—
(a) a commencement notice within the meaning of article 8, or
(b) a 7 day notice (within the meaning of article 5 of the Regulations of 1997) required under article 20A of the Regulations of 1997,
that is acknowledged by a building control authority in accordance with article 10(2) or 20A(3), as the case may be, of those Regulations;
‘construction operations’, in relation to a residential development or relevant residential development, means the construction of buildings or structures including the preparatory operations of site clearance, drainage, earth-moving, excavation, laying of foundations and the provision of roadways and other access works;
‘dwelling unit’ means—
(a) a building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling, and
(b) the curtilage of the dwelling, up to an area (exclusive of the site of the dwelling unit) of 0.4047 hectares;
‘gross floor space’ in relation to a dwelling unit means the area ascertained by the internal measurement of the floor space on each floor of a building, including internal walls and partitions;
‘land’, where used without qualification, means the land that is conveyed or transferred by an instrument;
‘planning permission’ has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 ;
‘Regulations of 1997’ means the Building Control Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 496 of 1997 );
‘residential development’ means the construction of one or more dwelling units and references to ‘relevant residential development’ shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (b).
(b) References in this section to ‘relevant residential development’ shall be construed—
(i) in a case in which a claim for a repayment under subsection (8) is, pursuant to subsection (7)(b), made in respect of such of the construction operations as for the time being are being carried out pursuant to a particular commencement notice, as references to the residential development that comprises those construction operations, or
(ii) in either—
(I) a case in which, as mentioned in subsection (7)(b), the making of a claim for repayment under subsection (8) is deferred until completion of the residential development concerned, or
(II) a case in which the residential development concerned is not carried out in a phased manner,
as references to the entire of the residential development concerned.
(c) Without prejudice to subsection (4)(i), for the purposes of this section relevant residential development shall be regarded as completed if there exists in respect of the development a completion certificate.
num: 62
paragraphs: (1) The Principal Act is amended—
(a) by inserting the following section after section 31B:
“Shares deriving value from immovable property situated in State
31C. (1) (a) In this section—
‘Act of 1997’ means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ;
‘arrangement’ includes any agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions;
‘company’ has the same meaning as in section 4 of the Act of 1997;
‘connected person’ has the same meaning as in section 10 of the Act of 1997 and a person who is connected shall be construed accordingly;
‘development’, in relation to immovable property, means—
(a) the construction, demolition, extension, reconstruction of, or the material alteration or refurbishment of, any building, or
(b) the carrying out of any engineering or other operation to adapt the immovable property for materially altered use, and developed and developing shall be construed accordingly;
‘immovable property’ means immovable property situated in the State that is not residential property;
‘interest’, in relation to a partnership, means a partner’s share or interest in a partnership;
‘IREF’, subject to paragraph (b), has the same meaning as in section 739K(1) of the Act of 1997;
‘units’ has the same meaning as in section 88(1)(a).
(b) For the purposes of the definition of ‘IREF’ in paragraph (a), the definition of ‘IREF’ in section 739K(1) of the Act of 1997 shall be read as if there were inserted after the words ‘investment undertaking’ in the first four places where they occur the words ‘or collective investment scheme to which section 88(1)(b)(ii) applies’.
(c) For the purposes of this section, where a company, IREF, partnership or a connected person secures the development of any immovable property, the company, IREF or partnership shall be regarded as developing that immovable property.
(d) For the purposes of this section, if, by any one or more transactions or by any arrangement or scheme, whether concerning the immovable property or stocks, marketable securities, units or interests deriving value from that immovable property, there is a disposal of the immoveable property or a transfer of control over that immoveable property, that disposal or transfer, as the case may be, shall be a disposal for the purposes of this section.
(2) (a) This section applies in relation to—
(i) stocks or marketable securities in a company, other than an investment undertaking within the meaning of section 739B of the Act of 1997 that is not an IREF,
(ii) units in an IREF, or
(iii) interests in a partnership,
that derive their value, or the greater part of their value, directly or indirectly, from immovable property.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), a reference to deriving value indirectly from immovable property shall include value that is derived from stocks, marketable securities, units or interests in relation to which this section applies.
(c) Where the company, IREF or partnership referred to in paragraph (a) (referred to in this subsection as ‘the first-mentioned company, IREF or partnership’) derives its value from stocks, marketable securities, units or interests in a company, IREF or partnership (referred to in this subsection as ‘the second-mentioned company, IREF or partnership’), the circumstances in subsection (6) shall be deemed to apply to the first-mentioned company, IREF or partnership where they apply to the second-mentioned company, IREF or partnership.
(3) Where stocks, marketable securities, units or interests in relation to which this section applies were owned at one time by one person, or by persons who are acting in concert or who are connected persons, and are conveyed or transferred by that person or those persons in parts—
(a) to another person, or
(b) to other persons who are acting in concert or who are connected persons,
whether or not on the same or different occasions, the several conveyances or transfers shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as a single conveyance or transfer.
num: 63
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 1(1), by inserting the following definition:
“ ‘Revenue officer’ means an officer of the Commissioners;”,
(b) in section 14A, by substituting the following for subsection (3):
“(3) Where an accountable person fails to cause the delivery of an electronic return or a paper return in relation to an instrument on or before the specified return date, any amount of stamp duty chargeable which, apart from this section, is contained in an assessment of stamp duty made under section 20 shall be increased by an amount (in this subsection referred to as a ‘surcharge’) equal to—
(a) 5 per cent of that amount of duty, subject to a maximum surcharge of €12,695, where the return is delivered before the expiry of 2 months from the specified return date, and
(b) 10 per cent of that amount of duty, subject to a maximum surcharge of €63,485, where the return is not delivered before the expiry of 2 months from the specified return date.”,
(c) in section 20, by inserting the following after subsection (9):
“(10) An assessment of stamp duty shall, where subsection (3) of section 14A applies, include any surcharge within the meaning of that subsection.”,
(d) in section 134A, by inserting the following after subsection (13):
“(14) Subject to section 1077D(2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , proceedings for the recovery of any penalty under this section shall not be out of time by reason that they are commenced after the time allowed by section 1063 of that Act as applied by section 133.”,
(e) by substituting the following for section 158A:
“158A. (1) Subject to subsection (2), any act to be performed or function to be discharged by the Commissioners under this Act may be performed or discharged by any one or more of their officers acting under their authority.
(2) The general delegation referred to in subsection (1) shall not apply in the case of—
(a) the authorisation of Revenue officers to perform any act or function that requires authorisation to be given by the Commissioners, and
(b) the making of regulations under this Act.”,
and
(f) in section 159C(1), by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant period”:
“ ‘relevant period’, in relation to a relevant instrument, means the period of 4 years commencing on—
(a) (i) subject to paragraph (b), the date the instrument was stamped by the Commissioners,
(ii) the date the statement was delivered to the Commissioners, or
(iii) the date the instruction was made,
or
(b) the latest date on which all of the conditions were required to be satisfied for a relief or exemption;”.
num: 64
paragraphs: Section 106B(1) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (b):
“(b) the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency established under Article 4 of the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency (Establishment) Order 2012 ( S.I. No. 264 of 2012 ).”.
num: 65
paragraphs: (1) Section 81AA of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (8):
“(8) This section applies to any instrument which operates as a conveyance or transfer (whether on sale or as a voluntary disposition inter vivos) of an interest in land to a young trained farmer where—
(a) it is the intention of the young trained farmer, for a period of 5 years from the date of execution of the instrument to—
(i) spend not less than 50 per cent of his or her normal working time farming the land, and
(ii) retain ownership of the land,
(b) the young trained farmer submits a business plan to Teagasc before the execution of the instrument concerned, and
(c) the young trained farmer comes within the meaning of ‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ in Annex 1 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 702/2014 of 25 June 2014 19 .”.
(2) Section 851A(8) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended—
(a) in paragraph (k), by substituting “purpose,” for “purpose, and”,
(b) in paragraph (l), by substituting “Marine,” for “Marine.”, and
(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (l):
“(m) where relief is granted under section 81D of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 and the information is disclosed only to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the sole purpose of complying with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 20 ,”.
19OJ No. L 193, 1.7.2014, p.1
20OJ No. L 352, 24.12.2013, p.9
num: 66
paragraphs: Section 79 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by inserting the following after subsection (7):
“(7A) Where a transferor—
(a) is liquidated, or
(b) is dissolved without going into liquidation and a conveyance or transfer has been effected as a result of a merger by absorption (within the meaning of section 463 or 1129 of the Companies Act 2014 ) by reason of which the foregoing dissolution of the transferor has taken place,
the transferor and the transferee shall, for the purposes of subsections (5)(c) and (7)(b), not be regarded as ceasing to be associated where, for a period of 2 years from the date of the conveyance or transfer—
(i) the beneficial interest that was conveyed or transferred from the transferor continues to be held by the transferee, and
(ii) the beneficial ownership of the ordinary share capital of the transferee remains unchanged.
(7B) This section shall not apply unless the conveyance or transfer of a beneficial interest in property, or the liquidation referred to in subsection (7A)(a), is effected for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of a scheme or arrangement of which the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, is the avoidance of liability to any tax or duty.”,
and
(b) by inserting the following after subsection (10):
“(11) In the case of—
(a) a merger undertaken in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 9 of the Companies Act 2014 —
(i) the resolution referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) of section 202(1) of that Act, in the case of a merger effected by way of the summary approval procedure (within the meaning of section 202 of that Act), or
(ii) the order made under section 480(2) of that Act, in the case of a merger effected otherwise than by way of the summary approval procedure (within the foregoing meaning),
shall be regarded as a conveyance on sale, or
(b) a merger undertaken in accordance with Chapter 16 of Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014 , the order made under section 1144 of that Act shall be regarded as a conveyance on sale.”.
num: 67
paragraphs: Section 80 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by substituting the following for subsections (1) to (6):
“(1) (a) In this section—
‘acquiring company’ means, subject to paragraph (b), a company with limited liability;
‘merger’ means a merger undertaken in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 9 or Chapter 16 of Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014 ;
‘shares’ includes stock;
‘successor company’ and ‘transferor company’ have the meanings given to them by section 461 of the Companies Act 2014 ;
‘undertaking’ includes part of an undertaking.
(b) References in this section to a company shall be construed as including references to a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 .
(2) (a) This subsection applies where there is a scheme for the bona fide reconstruction of any company or the amalgamation of any companies and where, in connection with the scheme, the following conditions apply:
(i) a company with limited liability is to be registered, or a company has been established by Act of the Oireachtas, or the nominal share capital of a company has been increased,
(ii) the company (in this section referred to as the ‘acquiring company’) is to be registered or has been established or has increased its capital with a view to the acquisition of either—
(I) the undertaking of a particular existing company (in this section referred to as the ‘target company’), or
(II) not less than 90 per cent of the issued share capital of a target company,
and
(iii) the consideration for the acquisition (except such part of that consideration as consists in the transfer to or discharge by the acquiring company of liabilities of the target company) consists as to not less than 90 per cent of that consideration—
(I) where an undertaking is to be acquired, in the issue of shares in the acquiring company to the target company or to holders of shares in the target company, or
(II) where shares are to be acquired, in the issue of shares in the acquiring company to the holders of shares in the target company in exchange for the shares held by them in the target company.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a)(i) in so far as it relates to a company with limited liability that is to be registered, a company with limited liability does not include a private company limited by shares to which Part 2 of the Companies Act 2014 applies.
(c) For the purposes of paragraph (a)(i), a company that has issued any share capital shall be treated as if it had increased its nominal share capital.
(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply unless—
(a) it is provided by the memorandum of association of the acquiring company or the Act establishing the acquiring company that one of the objects for which the company is formed is the acquisition of the undertaking of, or shares in, the target company, or
(b) it appears from the resolution, Act or other authority for the increase of the capital of the acquiring company that the increase is authorised for the purpose of acquiring the undertaking of, or shares in, the target company.
(4) This subsection applies where—
(a) a merger is undertaken, and
(b) the successor company is a private company limited by shares, a designated activity company or a public limited company that is not an investment company within the meaning of section 2, 963 or 1001, respectively, of the Companies Act 2014 .
num: 68
paragraphs: (1) Section 81C of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by substituting “24 months” for “18 months” in each place where it occurs,
(b) in subsection (1)(a)—
(i) by deleting the definition of “PPS Number”, and
(ii) in the definition of “relevant period”—
(I) by substituting “1 January 2018” for “1 July 2007”, and
(II) by substituting “31 December 2020” for “30 June 2009”,
(c) in subsection (3), by substituting “at the rate of one per cent on an instrument executed on or after 1 January 2018” for “on the instrument”,
(d) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (6):
“(6) A claim for relief under subsection (3) or a claim for relief by way of repayment under subsection (5), made to the Commissioners under this section, shall be allowed where it is the intention of the person purchasing the land to—
(a) retain ownership of his or her interest in the qualifying land, and
(b) use the qualifying land for farming,
for a period of not less than 5 years from the date on which the first claim for relief in respect of the qualifying land is made.”,
(e) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (7):
“(7) This section shall not apply to an instrument unless it contains a certificate, by the person or persons to whom the land is conveyed or transferred by the instrument, to the effect that that person is or those persons are, as the case may be, entitled to claim relief in accordance with this section.”,
(f) by deleting subsection (8),
(g) in subsection (9)(c)—
(i) by substituting “a certificate referred to in subsection (7)” for “a declaration referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) of subsection (6)”,
(ii) by substituting “the person or persons to whom the land is conveyed or transferred by the instrument” for “the person or persons who made such a declaration”, and
(iii) by deleting “due to all the facts not having been truthfully declared”,
(h) by deleting subsection (9)(d),
(i) in subsection (10)—
(i) in paragraph (b), by substituting “under paragraph (a) or (c)” for “under paragraph (a), (c) or (d)”,
(ii) in paragraph (c), by substituting “under paragraph (c) of subsection (9), and” for “under paragraph (c) or (d) of subsection (9),”,
(iii) in paragraph (d), by substituting “under paragraph (a) of subsection (9).” for “under paragraph (a) or (d), as the case may be, of subsection (9), and”, and
(iv) by deleting paragraph (e),
and
(j) in subsection (12)—
(i) by substituting “1 January 2018” for “1 July 2007”, and
(ii) by substituting “31 December 2020” for “30 June 2011”.
(2) Subsection (1) comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.
num: 69
paragraphs: In this Part “Principal Act” means the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 .
num: 70
paragraphs: Section 85 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)—
(a) in paragraph (a) by substituting “Taxes Consolidation Act 1997,” for “Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, or”,
(b) in paragraph (b)—
(i) by substituting “under subsection (4) or (4B), as the case may be, of section 787G of that Act” for “under section 787G(4) of that Act”, and
(ii) by substituting “to an individual, or” for “to an individual,”,
and
(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):
“(c) a vested RAC within the meaning of section 787O(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ,”.
num: 71
paragraphs: Section 86 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by substituting the following for subsection (5):
“(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a dwelling house shall not be regarded as a relevant dwelling house where it is taken—
(a) by way of a gift, or
(b) under a disposition referred to in paragraph (c) of section 3(1),
unless it is taken by a dependent relative under subsection (9).”,
and
(b) in subsection (9)(c) by inserting “or inheritance” after “a gift”.
num: 72
paragraphs: Section 89 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (1A):
“(1B) (a) In this subsection—
(i) ‘solar panel’ means ground-mounted equipment used to capture solar energy and convert it into electrical energy together with ancillary equipment used to harness, store and transfer the electrical energy;
(ii) a reference to ‘agricultural land’ is to agricultural land comprised in a gift or inheritance.
(b) Notwithstanding that solar panels are installed on agricultural land, subject to paragraph (d), the land shall be regarded as agricultural land for the purposes of the definition of ‘agricultural property’ in subsection (1).
(c) Where agricultural land on which solar panels are installed is leased, subject to the conditions specified in paragraph (iii) of subsection (1)—
(i) the lessor shall be regarded as having leased the whole or substantially the whole of the agricultural property where less than this amount has been leased, and
(ii) the lessee shall be regarded as satisfying the conditions specified in paragraph (i) or (ii) of subsection (1), as the case may be.
(d) Paragraphs (b) and (c) shall not apply where—
(i) solar panels are installed on more than half the total area of the agricultural land concerned, or
(ii) in relation to the individual referred to in the definition of ‘farmer’ in subsection (1), the conditions specified in paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subsection (1), as the case may be, are not satisfied with regard to the agricultural land on which solar panels are not installed.”.
num: 73
paragraphs: In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .
num: 74
paragraphs: Section 122 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (2):
num: 75
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended to the extent specified in Schedule 3.
num: 76
paragraphs: Part 37 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 851A by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (m) (inserted by section 65 ):
“(n) where the taxpayer information is disclosed to an official of the Department of Finance solely—
(i) for the purposes of or in connection with the compliance by the State with its obligations under—
(I) Article 108 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, or
(II) regulations made pursuant to Article 109 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union,
or
(ii) for the purposes of or in connection with the preparation of a response to the exercise by the Commission of the European Union of its functions under—
(I) Articles 107 to 109 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, or
(II) regulations made pursuant to Article 109 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union,
and
(o) where the taxpayer information is disclosed to the Commission of the European Union solely for the purposes of or in connection with the compliance by the State with its obligations under—
(i) Article 108 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, or
(ii) regulations made pursuant to Article 109 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.”,
and
(b) by inserting the following section after section 851A:
“Use of, and access to, taxpayer information
851B. (1) In this section—
‘Acts’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 851A;
‘processing’ of, or in relation to, taxpayer information, means performing any operation or set of operations on the information or data, whether or not by automated means, including—
(a) obtaining, recording or keeping the information or data,
(b) collecting, organising, structuring, storing, altering or adapting the information or data,
(c) retrieving, consulting or using the information or data,
(d) disclosing the information or data by transmitting, disseminating or otherwise making it available,
(e) aligning, combining, blocking, erasing or destroying the information or data, and
(f) testing, analysing, forecasting, or generalising from the information or data;
‘profiling’ includes any form of processing, whether or not by automated means, of information or data consisting of the use of information or data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to an individual, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that individual’s economic situation, liability to tax, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;
‘tax’ means any tax, duty, levy or charge under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners;
‘taxpayer information’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 851A.
(2) Taxpayer information shall be—
(a) processed lawfully and fairly,
(b) collected for one or more specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not processed in a manner that is incompatible with such purposes,
(c) adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is processed,
(d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step shall be taken to ensure that taxpayer information that is inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which it is processed, is erased without delay or rectified without delay,
(e) kept in a form which permits identification of individuals the subject of the information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the taxpayer information is processed, and
(f) processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.
(3) Taxpayer information may be processed or profiled where required for the purposes of the following:
(a) carrying out any functions authorised or obligations imposed on the Revenue Commissioners by the Acts;
(b) administering, raising, collecting, receiving and accounting for tax under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners;
(c) implementing customs controls;
(d) carrying out or assisting in the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of offences or the execution of penalties;
(e) safeguarding against, and the prevention of, threats to persons, property or public security.
(4) Individuals shall, on written request, have the right to—
(a) confirmation as to whether taxpayer information of which they are the subject has been processed and the right to access that processed information, and
(b) confirmation as to whether taxpayer information of which they are the subject has been profiled, the right to information on the basis for the profiling and to access the outcome of such profiling,
except where such confirmation or access would, or is likely to, cause prejudice to one or more of the circumstances specified in subsection (5).
(5) The circumstances referred to in subsection (4)(a) and (b) are the following:
(a) the administration, assessment, collection and recovery of tax;
(b) any enquiry or investigation into a liability or liabilities in relation to tax under the Acts or a liability to foreign tax within the meaning of section 912A;
(c) the investigation or prevention of an offence under the Acts;
(d) the administration and implementation of customs controls;
(e) where the information was given in confidence or on the understanding that it would be treated as confidential;
(f) where it would be contrary to any other express restrictions imposed by the Acts or by any other enactments.
(6) Refusal of requests made under subsection (5) shall be in writing and shall set out the grounds for refusal.”.
num: 77
paragraphs: (1) The Principal Act is amended in the manner and to the extent specified in Schedule 1 .
num: 78
paragraphs: (1) Section 902 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by deleting subsection (5), and
(b) in subsection (6) by substituting “the taxpayer concerned shall be notified in writing by the authorised officer of the service of the notice and of the name of the person upon whom it was served” for “a copy of such notice shall be given by the authorised officer to the taxpayer concerned”.
(2) Section 902A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3)(ba) by substituting “is likely to lead to serious prejudice to the proper assessment or collection of tax” for “would lead to serious prejudice to the proper assessment or collection of tax”.
(3) Section 906A of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by deleting subsection (7), and
(b) in subsection (8) by substituting “the taxpayer concerned shall be notified in writing by the authorised officer of the service of the notice and of the name of the person upon whom it was served” for “a copy of such notice shall be given by the authorised officer to the taxpayer concerned”.
(4) Section 908 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3)(ba) by substituting “is likely to lead to serious prejudice to the proper assessment or collection of tax” for “would lead to serious prejudice to the proper assessment or collection of tax”.
num: 79
paragraphs: (1) Section 531AA of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subsection (1)—
(i) by deleting the definition of “final decision”, and
(ii) by deleting “and in respect of which a final decision has been made” after “Tax Acts” in the definition of “liability to income tax”,
and
(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):
“(1A) For the purposes of the definition of ‘world-wide income’ in subsection (1), an individual’s income means the income of an individual before deducting capital allowances and losses.”.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to domicile levy chargeable for the year 2018 and subsequent years.
num: 80
paragraphs: (1) Section 826 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1D) the following:
“(1E) Where—
(a) the Government by order declare—
(i) that it has become a signatory to the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (in this section referred to as the ‘Multilateral Convention’) which was done at Paris on the 24th day of November 2016, for the purposes of the modification of arrangements of the type specified in subsection (1), such that—
(I) the extent to which the Government wishes to modify each such arrangement is specified in full in the reservations and notifications made to the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (in this section referred to as ‘the Depository’) in accordance with the Multilateral Convention,
(II) any such arrangement may only be modified where the government of the territory outside the State with which the arrangement has been made has completed its own internal ratification procedures in relation to the Multilateral Convention and has notified that arrangement to the Depository, and
(III) a provision of any such arrangement may only be modified to the extent that the government of the territory outside the State with which the arrangement has been made has specified the provision in its notifications made to the Depository in accordance with the Multilateral Convention and there is no incompatibility between the specification of that government and the specification made under clause (I),
and
(ii) that it is expedient that the Multilateral Convention should have the force of law,
and
num: 81
paragraphs: Schedule 24A to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in Part 1 by inserting the following after paragraph 21:
“21A. The Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Republic of Kazakhstan) Order 2017 ( S.I. No. 479 of 2017 ).”,
and
(b) in Part 3 by inserting the following after paragraph 8AB:
“8AC. The Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters (Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China) Order 2017 ( S.I. No. 480 of 2017 ).”.
num: 82
paragraphs: (1) In this section “the Acts” means—
(a) the Principal Act,
(b) the statutes relating to the duties of excise and to the management of those duties,
(c) the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 , and the enactments amending or extending that Act,
(d) the statutes relating to stamp duty and to the management of that duty,
and any instruments made thereunder.
num: 83
paragraphs: (1) The Principal Act is amended in Part 21—
(a) before section 630 by re-titling Part 21 as:
“PART 21
Provisions Relating to Mergers, Divisions and Transfers of Assets”,
(b) by inserting the following after the title to Part 21 (inserted by paragraph (a)):
“Chapter 1
Mergers, divisions, transfers of assets and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different Member States”,
(c) in sections 630, 637(1)(b) and 638(1) by substituting “this Chapter” for “this Part” in each place where it occurs, and
(d) by inserting the following Chapter after Chapter 1 (inserted by paragraph (b)):
“Chapter 2
Mergers and divisions pursuant to Companies Act 2014
Company mergers and divisions
638A. (1) In this section—
‘division’ means a division undertaken in accordance with Chapter 4 of Part 9 or, as the case may be, Chapter 17 of Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014 ;
‘merger’ means a merger undertaken in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 9 or, as the case may be, Chapter 16 of Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014 ;
‘successor company’ means a company to which assets and liabilities have been transferred from a transferor company as a result of a merger or division;
‘the Acts’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 1077A;
‘transferor company’ means a company from which assets and liabilities have been transferred to a successor company or successor companies as a result of a merger or division.
(2) All liabilities and obligations of, and requirements or things to be fulfilled or done by, a transferor company under Part 38, 41A, 42 or 47, as the case may be, shall for the purposes of the Part concerned be treated as liabilities and obligations of, and requirements or things to be fulfilled or done by, the successor company or successor companies.
(3) In relation to an appeal made under any provision of the Acts by a transferor company or to be made by a successor company, as the case may be, an appeal made by a transferor company shall be treated as an appeal made by the successor company for the purposes of Part 40 or 40A, as the case may be.
(4) Any right of appeal in relation to an appealable matter (as defined in section 949A) conferred on a transferor company shall be treated as conferred on the successor company.”.
(2) This section is deemed to have come into operation on 1 June 2015.
num: 84
paragraphs: (1) Section 865 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (9):
“(10) (a) In this subsection—
‘successor company’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 638A(1);
‘transferor company’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 638A(1).
(b) Where a transferor company is a person to whom subsection (2) applies, this section shall apply as if any thing done pursuant to it or required to be done pursuant to it by or for such a person or a chargeable person, as the case may be, were, as appropriate—
(i) a thing done pursuant to it, or
(ii) a thing required to be done pursuant to it,
by or for a successor company.
(c) Where there is more than one successor company, any repayment of tax to be made under this section shall, as necessary, be apportioned on a just and reasonable basis.
(d) The amount of any repayment of tax or part repayment of tax to be made to a successor company or successor companies shall not exceed the total amount that would have been made to a transferor company but for the application of this subsection.”.
(2) Subsection (1) is deemed to have come into operation on 1 June 2015.
num: 85
paragraphs: Section 67 of the Finance Act 1988 is amended by substituting the following for subsection (8):
“(8) (a) The Minster may, at his or her discretion—
(i) pay moneys into the Account, or
(ii) place moneys to the credit of the account of the Exchequer.
(b) Any moneys paid into the Account under paragraph (a)(i) shall be applied towards defraying the interest and expenses arising on the public debt and, whenever the Minister considers it appropriate, towards the making of payments or repayments in respect of transactions entered into under section 54 (7) of the Finance Act 1970 .
(c) Any moneys placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer under paragraph (a)(ii) shall form part of the Central Fund and be available in any manner in which that Fund is available.
(d) In this subsection ‘moneys’ means any sum (including interest received by the Minister on temporary deposits held abroad under section 4 (2)(b) (inserted by the Appropriation Act 1969 ) of the Appropriation Act 1965 and interest received on the Exchequer’s accounts with the Central Bank of Ireland or with the holder of a licence under the Central Bank Act 1971 ) received by the Minister arising out of transactions entered into under section 54 (7) of the Finance Act 1970 .”.
num: 86
paragraphs: The Minister for Finance shall, not later than 9 months after the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before DÃ¡il Ãireann a report on the issues relating to making provision in law for a tax on vacant residential property, the administration and implementation of such a tax, the availability of reliable baseline data and the estimated annual revenue from such a tax.
num: 87
paragraphs: All taxes and duties imposed by this Act are placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.
num: 88
paragraphs: (1) This Act may be cited as the Finance Act 2017 .
(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 universal social charge, Part 18D of the Principal Act,
(c) in so far as it relates to corporation tax, the Corporation Tax Acts, and
(d) 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.
(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) universal social charge, shall be construed together with Part 18D of the Principal Act,
(c) corporation tax, shall be construed together with the Corporation Tax Acts,
(d) capital gains tax, shall be construed together with the Capital Gains Tax Acts,
(e) customs, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts,
(f) duties of excise, shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to duties of excise and the management of those duties,
(g) value-added tax, shall be construed together with the Value-Added Tax Acts,
(h) stamp duty, shall be construed together with the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,
(i) domicile levy, shall be construed together with Part 18C of the Principal Act, and
(j) 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 for in Part 1, that Part shall come into operation on 1 January 2018.
(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.