asked the Minister for Finance if he will state in respect of each of the five years 1929-1930 to 1934-35 the total sum of the moneys payable in respect of ground rents which was exported out of the Saorstát to absentee property owners.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Saorstát Ground Rents.
As I have indicated already in reply to previous questions, I regret that there are no available means of computing with any degree of accuracy the amount annually payable in Saorstát Eireann as ground rents. Neither are there means of computing the total sum of moneys which are payable each year in respect of ground rents to property owners residing outside Saorstát Eireann.
Income tax in respect of ground rents arising in Saorstát Eireann is not assessed directly on the recipients of such rents. Income tax assessments under Schedule A are made in the ordinary way on the annual value of the properties out of which the ground rents are payable, and in each such case the owner of the property deducts tax on the ground rent from the ground landlord. An endeavour to obtain the information asked for by the Deputy would involve the expenditure of an immense amount of time and labour on the examination of many thousands of income tax returns. Even then the result would probably be quite inaccurate owing to returns being incomplete and the difficulty in certain cases of determining the ultimate destination of the ground rents.
Would the Minister say whether any information is available on this subject in connection with the balance of trade returns?
I do not think so; that is to say, there is not available any information that could be relied on with any certainty.
But it is obviously an item in our trade relations with Great Britain and I wonder if the Minister would ascertain if there is any figure available which would give a picture of the extent of the export of these moneys?
I tried to get that picture myself and I could not get it.
Would the Minister say if any income-tax is payable on these moneys at this end—that is, on the moneys that go over?
That is a question that cannot be answered by a simple "yes" or "no."
Are we to understand then that in estimating the matter of the balance of trade the Minister for Industry and Commerce has not taken that item into consideration?
As I said, there are not any means of computing the total moneys.
The Minister for Industry and Commerce never estimated any balance of trade.