Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Apr 1926

Vol. 15 No. 2

CUSTOMS RESOLUTIONS. - RESOLUTION No. 4—MOTORS, FILMS, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Mr. BLYTHE

I move:—

(1) That the new import duties which were first imposed by Section 12 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and were (with the exception of the duty on records and other means of reproducing music) continued up to the 1st day of May, 1926, by Section 23 of the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), shall, with the exception aforesaid and the further exception of the duty on blank film on which no picture has been impressed, continue to be charged, levied, and paid on and from the said 1st day of May, 1927. 1926, up to the 1st day of May, 1927.

(2) That whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that any cinematograph film imported into Saorstát Eireann is of an educational character, they shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they think fit to impose, exempt such film from payment of the duty on cinematograph films included in the new import duties mentioned in this Resolution.

(3) That the provisions of Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties mentioned in this Resolution with the substitution of the expression "Saorstát Eireann" for the expression "Great Britain and Ireland."

(4) It is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1913.

This is a Customs resolution continuing what are commonly called the McKenna duties. The duties are those on motor cars, including motor cycles and tricycles; musical instruments, including gramophones, pianolas and other similar instruments, with the accessories and other component parts thereof; clocks and watches with their component parts; cinematograph films. The duty on blank films is one-third of a penny; on positive films containing pictures ready for exhibition, one penny per lineal foot; negative films (that is films containing photographs from which positives can be printed), 5d. per foot; other goods in the list, duties equal to 33? per cent. of the value of the article.

The yield from the various items during the past year has been as follows:—Cinematograph films, £13,220; clocks and watches, £16,070; motor vehicles, £304,260; musical instruments, £23,020. Two years ago we removed the provision imposing the duties on gramophone records. Last year we gave exemption to films which were held by the Revenue Commissioners to be of an educational character. This year it is proposed to give an exemption to blank films. There are not many cinematograph pictures taken in the Saorstát, and certainly no blank films are made or will be made here; and it is thought that any additional production of pictures will probably be more advantageous than the very small amount of tax which is at present received on blank films, which amounts to about £140 per year.

Major COOPER

I propose to reserve my general remarks for the discussion to-morrow, but there are just one or two points I should like to touch on now. Firstly, I should like to thank the Minister for assenting to the request I made on two previous years, in disentangling this resolution from the resolution dealing with the duty on dried fruits. I am glad that at last he has extracted the motor cycles and ukuleles from amongst the figs and the dates and the currants. I want to express the hope that the Minister will go a little further in his exemptions as soon as he has sufficient revenue and exempt musical instruments from this duty. It is not a protective duty. The making of musical instruments requires a long training, in many cases an hereditary aptitude, and is confined to certain areas, mostly situated, I think, in Germany. Again, we have adopted the principle of exempting educational films. Music in most of its forms is in itself educational. It is a wholesome and healthful relaxation and it is not a subject that we ought to put a tax on, if we can possibly afford to sacrifice the revenue. £23,000 sounds a great deal of money, but taken in the scale of a national balance sheet of £23,000,000, it is not a very large amount; so that I hope when the Minister is considering remissions, if not this year, at any rate next year, he will take this matter into account.

I should like if he would tell us a little more about the duty on blank films. At present almost the only films that are taken in Ireland are what are called topical films. Cinematograph operators of one or two of what are called "Topical Gazettes" come over for certain national functions, like the St. Patrick's Day parade and things of that kind, and take pictures which are exported, certainly to Great Britain, and probably elsewhere in the world. It is very desirable that they should do so, because, apart from anything else, it is good propaganda. A picture of a parade of the National Army is good propaganda. I do not know whether a picture of Deputies arriving at Leinster House is good propaganda or not, but it may suggest that we are not quite such a hardened gathering as some people imagine. Up to the present, I believe there has been the anomalous situation that the companies who took these films had to pay a double duty; they had to pay a duty on the film coming in, and then had again to pay duty on the film as it was exported. Now we are relieving them on our side from that burden, and I think that is satisfactory, because it will help to make our activities—I hope our constructive activities—better known to the world.

Mr. BLYTHE

In addition, perhaps, to encouraging the taking of more topical pictures, it probably may encourage the taking of scenic pictures which do not give much profit, and which it would be very advantageous to have taken if they were well taken and exported.

Mr. ALTON

Last year the Minister exempted films of an educational and instructive character from this duty I hope that indicates that he will go some way towards relieving them of all duty, because, as he knows, they pay a censorship fee. Probably I should not refer to this matter now, but I take advantage of the occasion to remind the Minister that I will take a further opportunity of pressing this matter.

Resolution put and agreed to.