Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 May 1948

Vol. 110 No. 9

Financial Resolutions. - Resolution No. 5—Excise—Entertainments Duty.

Mr. McGilligan

I move:—

(1) That in this Resolution—

the expression "the Act of 1916" means the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as amended by subsequent enactments, including this section;

the expression "entertainments duty" means the excise duty referred to by that name in, and chargeable under, Section 1 of the Act of 1916;

the expression "personal performance" means an entertainment the performers in which are personally present and performing and which consists of one or more of the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) a dramatic performance,

(b) a musical concert, whether vocal or instrumental or both vocal and instrumental,

(c) a number of variety items or turns such as are ordinarily given in a music-hall;

the expression "cinematographic exhibition" means an entertainment which consists of an exhibition of moving pictures or other optical effects produced by means of a cinematograph or similar apparatus, whether accompanied or not accompanied by vocal or other sounds produced by mechanical means;

the expression "patent theatre" means a theatre in respect of which letters patent have been issued and are in force under the pre-union Irish Statute passed in the year 1786 and entitled "An Act for Regulating the Stage in the City and County of Dublin";

the expression "the operative date" means the 1st day of June, 1948.

(2) That entertainments duty on all payments for admission, on or after the operative date, to any entertainment (other than an entertainment which consists wholly or partly of a cinematographic exhibition) shall be charged, levied and paid at the following rates, that is to say:—

Where the payment for admission, excluding duty,
						Rate of Duty
	s.	d.		s.	d.	s.	d.
exceeds	0	4	and does not exceed	0	4½	0	1½
,,	0	4½	,, ,,	0	6	0	2
,,	0	6	,, ,,	0	8	0	3
,,	0	8	,, ,,	0	11½	0	4½
,,	0	11½	,, ,,	1	3½	0	6½
,,	1	3½	,, ,,	1	9	0	9
,,	1	9	,, ,,	2	4½	1	1½
,,	2	4½	,, ,,	3	0	1	6
,,	3	0	,, ,,	4	0	2	0
,,	4	0				2	0 for
						the first 4s. and 2s. for every additional 4s. or part of 4s.

(3) That entertainments duty on all payments for admission, on or after the operative date, to any entertainment which consists wholly of a cinematographic exhibition shall be charged, levied and paid at the following rates, that is to say:—

Where the payment for admission, excluding duty,
						Rate of Duty
	s.	d.		s.	d.	s.	d.
exceeds	0	4	and does not exceed	0	4½	0	1½
,,	0	4½	,, ,,	0	6	0	2
,,	0	6	,, ,,	0	7	0	3
,,	0	7	,, ,,	0	8	0	4
,,	0	8	,, ,,	0	10	0	5
,,	0	10	,, ,,	1	0½	0	7½
,,	1	0½	,, ,,	1	4	0	10
,,	1	4	,, ,,	1	6	1	0
,,	1	6	,, ,,	1	9	1	3
,,	1	9	,, ,,	2	0	1	6
,,	2	0	,, ,,	2	10½	2	1½
,,	2	10½	,, ,,	4	0	3	0
,,	4	0				3	0 for
						the first 4s. and 3s. for every additional 4s. or part of 4s.

(4) (a) That entertainments duty on all payments for admission, on or after the operative date, to an entertainment which consists partly of a cinematographic exhibition shall, subject to sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph, be charged, levied and paid at the rates specified in paragraph (3) of this Resolution.

(b) That entertainments duty shall not be charged, levied or paid on any payments for admission, on or after the operative date, to any entertainment in a patent theatre where—

(i) the entertainment consists partly of a cinematographic exhibition and partly of a personal performance, and

(ii) the proprietor of such entertainment satisfies the Revenue Commissioners that such personal performance constitutes not less than 75 per cent. of the whole entertainment.

(c) That where—

(i) entertainments duty has been paid on payments for admission, on or after the operative date, to an entertainment in a patent theatre which consisted partly of a cinematographic exhibition and partly of a personal performance, and

(ii) such duty was charged on the basis of certified returns of such payments furnished by the proprietor of such patent theatre to the Revenue Commissioners, and

(iii) the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that such personal performance constituted less than 75 per cent. and not less than 35 per cent. of the whole entertainment,

the Revenue Commissioners shall repay to the proprietor of such entertainment an amount equal to 30 per cent. of the duty so charged and paid.

(5) That entertainments duty shall not be charged, levied or paid on any payment for admission, on or after the operative date, to any entertainment which consists wholly of a personal performance.

(6) (a) That the enactments specified in column (2) of the Schedule to this Resolution shall be repealed, as on and from the operative date, to the extent specified in column (3) of the said Schedule.

(b) That the Emergency Imposition of Duties (No. 232) Order, 1948 (S.I. No. 70 of 1948), shall cease to have effect on the operative date.

(7) 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, 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).

SCHEDULE.

Enactments Repealed in Part as on and from 1st June, 1948.

Number and Year	Short Title	Extent of Repea
(1)	(2)	(3)
No. 31 of 1931	Finance Act, 1931	Section 22.
No. 20 of 1932	Finance Act, 1932	Sub-sections (5) and (6) of Section 25.
No. 28 of 1935	Finance Act, 1935	Section 24.
No. 31 of 1936	Finance Act, 1936	Section 11.
No. 15 of 1947	Finance Act, 1947	Section 10.
No. 33 of 1947	Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947.	Section 8.

This is a very lengthy Resolution, but the effect of it is, as I stated in the financial statement, to bring the rates chargeable on cinemas back to what they were prior to the Supplementary Budget. The only other change being made is in respect of the exemption which could be claimed where a performance was wholly or mainly of a personal type. That will not be the case in the future. The exemption will be given only where the performance is wholly of a personal type. There are some minor changes, but they have no great effect. The situation with regard to patent theatres remains exactly as it was.

Mr. Lemass

There is a reference to patent theatres which are to get the concession. Could the Minister name these theatres?

Mr. McGilligan

The Royal, the Capitol and sometimes the Queens, and Olympia.

Mr. MacEntee

Accordingly, this Resolution does discriminate in favour of some theatres as against others?

Mr. McGilligan

No more than was ever the case.

Mr. MacEntee

Oh, no. I think the Minister is wrong.

Mr. McGilligan

No change is being made with regard to patent theatres.

Mr. MacEntee

I know, but hitherto any cinema which fulfilled the conditions got a tax remission.

Mr. McGilligan

Is the Deputy leaving the patent theatres out?

Mr. MacEntee

I am including the patent theatres.

Mr. McGilligan

They were different.

Mr. MacEntee

I am saying that a comprehensive concession was given to all cinema theatres, provided they fulfilled the conditions governing the composition of the programme. Where the programme included a certain percentage of live performances, a certain remission was given to any theatre. Now I understand from the Minister that henceforward that concession is to be reserved for the patent theatres only as against the others. Is that right?

Mr. McGilligan

That is mainly right.

Mr. Lemass

What is the justification for that? Is it not quite clear that the Royal and the Capitol as cinemas in Dublin will have a tax advantage over other cinemas? Why should they?

Mr. McGilligan

First, it was always there, and, secondly, they have had cine-variety shows always. They were genuine shows of the variety type added to the cinema. What we are now doing is preventing the fictitious personal show which has only started in order to evade the rates put on in the Supplementary Budget.

Mr. Lemass

Is it not true that if any cinema ran a bona fide variety show as the Royal or Capital, it could have got the same tax concession as the Royal and Capitol, but that, in future, no matter what show it runs, it cannot get the same tax concession, which is now to be confined to these named theatres, irrespective of what other theatres may do?

Captain Cowan

Can it not apply for letters patent?

Mr. Lemass

Can it? That will answer me—if I am told that it can and will get them.

Mr. MacEntee

That is a rather expensive performance.

Mr. McGilligan

Very definitely.

Mr. MacEntee

The Minister ought to remember that this tax concession was given with a very definite purpose—of encouraging the production of variety shows by cinema theatres.

Mr. McGilligan

Not by cinema theatres.

Mr. MacEntee

Yes.

Mr. McGilligan

By theatres which were variety theatres and which went over to cinema shows. What we are hitting at now is the cinema which pretended to go over to variety. If it likes to go the whole way and have completely personal performances, it will be all right, but not otherwise.

Mr. Lemass

It may be that, when the tax was increased, the inducement to evasion was increased with it, and I think it is true that there was considerable evasion; but, before the tax was increased, the effect of this concession was the employment of a number of musicians and artists in cinema theatres. The Minister, instead of merely remitting the increased tax, is abolishing the concession altogether, and presumably the effect will be to give no advantage to the cinema which employs any live artists and disemployment among musicians and cinema artists will result.

Mr. McGilligan

The only change that can be considered is this, that previously, in the case of shows, some cinema and wholly or mainly personal, there was a certain remission. The only unemployment which can be caused is in the case of any number of theatres which employed musicians and gave live shows to an extent which got the performance classified as wholly or mainly of a particular type, in which case there was a remission. That concession will not now be granted unless the performances are wholly and completely of a personal type.

Mr. Lemass

We will discuss it later.

An Ceann Comhairle

Resolution No. 5 agreed?

Mr. Lemass

Not opposed.

Resolution declared carried.