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14 1970

FINANCE ACT, 1970

PART IV

Stamp Duties

Amendment of First Schedule to Stamp Act, 1891.

40. —(1) The First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, is hereby amended by the substitution of the matter in the First Schedule to this Act for the matter in that Schedule.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later, and shall not have effect with respect to any instrument executed before such coming into operation.

Stamp duty on bills of exchange and promissory notes.

41. —(1) A duty of one new penny shall be substituted for the duty chargeable under the Stamp Act, 1891, on a bill of exchange or promissory note drawn in the State and specified under that heading in the First Schedule to that Act.

(2) The duty on a bill of exchange or a promissory note under subsection (1) of this section may be denoted by an adhesive stamp which is to be cancelled by the person by whom the bill or note is signed before he delivers it out of his hands, custody or power.

(3) Every person who issues, endorses, transfers, negotiates, presents for payment, or pays any bill of exchange or promissory note liable to duty and not being duly stamped shall incur a fine of ten pounds, and the person who takes or receives from any other person any such bill or note either in payment or as a security, or by purchase or otherwise, shall not be entitled to recover thereon, or to make the same available for any purpose whatever: Provided that if any bill of exchange is presented for payment unstamped, the person to whom it is presented may affix thereto an adhesive stamp of one penny in new currency, and cancel the same, as if he had been the drawer of the bill, and may thereupon pay the sum in the bill mentioned, and charge the duty in account against the person by whom the bill was drawn, or deduct the duty from the said sum, and the bill shall, so far as respects the duty, be deemed valid and available. But the foregoing proviso shall not relieve any person from any fine or penalty incurred by him in relation to such bill

(4) In section 57 (1) of the Finance Act, 1958 , the reference to the heading “Bill of Exchange payable on demand” shall be read as if it were a reference to the heading in subsection (1) of this section.

(5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall come into operation on the 15th day of February, 1971.

(6) The duty chargeable under the Stamp Act, 1891, on a bill of exchange or promissory note drawn outside the State and specified under that heading in the First Schedule to that Act shall cease to be chargeable on and from the 1st day of February, 1971.

(7) Section 35 of the Stamp Act, 1891, is hereby repealed with effect on and from the 1st day of February, 1971, and section 38 of the Stamp Act, 1891 and section 31 of the Finance Act, 1961 , are hereby repealed with effect on and from the 15th day of February, 1971.

Stamp duty on loan capital.

42. —(1) Section 8 (2) of the Finance Act, 1899, is hereby amended by the substitution of “five shillings” for “two shillings and sixpence” and “two hundred pounds” for “hundred pounds” and “a hundred pounds” in each place where the latter occurs.

(2) Section 10 (1) of the Finance Act, 1907, is hereby amended by the substitution of “four shillings” for “two shillings” and “two hundred pounds” for “hundred pounds”.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Short-term life insurance policies.

43. —(1) For the purpose of the charge to stamp duty a policy of life insurance shall be treated as made for a period exceeding two years if it contains any provision whereby it may become available for a period exceeding two years in all.

(2) Where, at any time after the making of a policy for a period not exceeding two years, the policy is varied so that it becomes or may become available for a period exceeding two years in all, the policy shall become chargeable with the same duty as would have been chargeable if it had been made on the date of the variation for a period exceeding two years, and may be stamped accordingly, without penalty, at any time within thirty days after that date.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Abolition of stamp duty in the case of transfers of certain stock.

44. —(1) In this section “stock” means any loan stock of a company registered or established in the State or a Board established by or under an Act of the Oireachtas or the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann the payment of the interest on which is guaranteed by the Minister for Finance.

(2) Transfers of stock shall be exempt from all stamp duties.

(3) Any agreement under section 115 of the Stamp Act, 1891, in respect of any stock shall cease to have effect.

(4) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Amendment of section 50 of Finance Act, 1969.

45. —(1) Section 50 of the Finance Act, 1969 , is hereby amended by the addition of the following paragraphs to subsection (7):

“(d) in relation to the construction, alteration or enlargement of a building for use as offices if the greater part of the building is intended for occupation by the owner of the building;

(e) in relation to the construction, alteration or enlargement of a building for use as offices if the owner of the building is a body corporate and the greater part of the building is intended for occupation by a body corporate which is associated with the owner to the extent that either is the beneficial owner of not less than ninety per cent. of the issued share capital of the other or that not less than ninety per cent. of the issued share capital of each of them is in the beneficial ownership of a third body corporate.”

(2) If, where a claim for exemption from duty has been allowed by virtue of paragraph (d) or (e) (inserted by this section) of section 50 (7) of the Finance Act, 1969 , there is a change of occupancy in relation to the greater part of the building to which the claim related within five years after the date of the contract to which the claim related, the exemption shall be deemed not to have been allowed, and an amount equal to the duty remitted shall forthwith be a debt due to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund and payable to the Revenue Commissioners, and the said amount (together with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent. per annum from the date of the contract for the construction, alteration or enlargement of the building) shall be recoverable at the suit of the Attorney-General in any court of competent jurisdiction from the owner or, in case there is more than one owner, from each owner jointly and severally.

(3) (a) The said section 50 is hereby further amended by the substitution in subsection (7) (c) of “a designated area within the meaning of the Industrial Development Act, 1969 ,” for “an undeveloped area within the meaning of the Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952 ”.

(b) This subsection shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Miscellaneous amendments of Stamp Act, 1891.

46. —(1) The Stamp Act, 1891, is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of “one shilling” for “two shillings and sixpence” in section 7,

(b) the substitution of “shall be exempt from duty” for “shall be deemed to be an agreement, and shall be charged with duty accordingly” in subsections (1) and (2) of section 23,

(c) the substitution of “but shall not otherwise be chargeable with duty except (where appropriate) with the fixed duty of ten shillings” for “and in any other case with the fixed duty of ten shillings or of sixpence, as the case may require” in section 59 (2), and

(d) the substitution of “Provided that where any such contract or agreement is stamped with the fixed duty of ten shillings (where appropriate)” for “Provided also that where any such contract or agreement is stamped with the said fixed duty” in section 59 (5).

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Amendment of section 7 of Finance Act, 1907.

47. —(1) Section 7 of the Finance Act, 1907, is hereby amended by the substitution of “shall only be charged with stamp duty if under seal and shall then be so charged as a deed” for from “shall be charged” to the end of the section.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1970, or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later.

Stamp duty on purchased life annuities.

48. —(1) An instrument being a grant or contract for payment of a purchased life annuity shall be chargeable with stamp duty under paragraph (3) of the heading “BOND, COVENANT or INSTRUMENT of any kind whatsoever” in the First Schedule to this Act and not otherwise, whether or not the annuity is a superannuation annuity as defined in that paragraph.

(2) In this section “purchased life annuity” means a life annuity granted for consideration in money or money's worth in the ordinary course of a business of granting annuities on human life.