Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 9 May 1934

Vol. 52 No. 6

Financial Resolution No. 1. - Financial Resolution No. 19—Death Duties.

Mr. MacEntee

I move:—

That where an annuity or other interest is purchased or provided by a person (in this Resolution referred to as the deceased), either by himself alone or in concert or by arrangement with any other person, the extent of the beneficial interest in such annuity or other interest on the death of the deceased shall, where the deceased dies on or after the date of the passing of the Act giving statutory effect to this Resolution, be ascertained, for the purposes of paragraph (d) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Finance Act, 1894, without regard to any expectant interest which the person who so becomes entitled to such beneficial interest on such death may have had in such annuity or other interest before such death.

Mr. Cosgrave

Would the Minister explain what this Resolution means?

Mr. MacEntee

This is a Resolution which relates to death duties and it is designed to preserve the existing estate duty practice in the Saorstát and to prevent its being upset if the Saorstát courts took the same view as was taken by the House of Lords in England in regard to expectant interest in relation to certain cases.

Mr. Cosgrave

Would the Minister translate that? Would he explain what is the meaning of "expectant interest"?

Mr. MacEntee

For example in cases where money under a marriage settlement is put into the hands of trustees and this money in certain contingencies is to pass to another party, that person might be held to have an "expectant interest" in the money. Under a recent decision of the House of Lords it is provided that when such a sum of money passes on the demise of the person who made the bequest estate duty would not be levied on the full amount of the property, but only on the full amount of the property or bequest, less the expectant interest which a beneficiary would have under it. That has not been the practice here and estate duty has always been levied on the full value of the interest which passes. We wish to preserve the existing position.

Mr. Minch

May I suggest that some new form of simplification of income tax and death duties should be produced. I suggest that some pamphlet should be issued explaining and simplifying these enactments. The whole matter has become more confused year by year, so much so that everybody has got more at sea about these matters and nobody gets the right interpretation at all.

Resolution agreed to.