I move that the Committee agree with the Seanad in the following recommendation:—
SECTION 19.
1. That before Section 19 a new section be inserted as follows:—
(1) This section applies to every conveyance or transfer and every lease (whether a conveyance, transfer or lease executed before or after the passing of this Act) of a house in respect of which a grant has been or will be made under Section 16 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948 (No. 1 of 1948), or under Section 6 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 (No. 25 of 1950), being a conveyance, transfer or lease—
(a) which under the enactments in force immediately before the passing of this Act would have been proper to be charged with stamp duty by reference to sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of Section 13 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947 (No. 33 of 1947), or sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1949 (No. 13 of 1949), and
(b) which is to a person—
(i) who is the person to whom the said grant has been or will be paid, or
(ii) who is a member of the public utility society to which the said grant has been or will be paid,
as the case may be.
(2) Section 13 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, and Sections 24 and 25 of the Finance Act, 1949, shall not apply and shall be deemed never to have applied to any instrument to which this section applies and, where the amount of duty paid in respect of any such instrument exceeds the amount which would have been chargeable if those sections had not been enacted, the excess may be repaid.
(3) An instrument to which this section applies and which is stamped at a rate less than the rate which, but for the provisions of this section, would be chargeable by reference to sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of Section 13 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, or sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1949, as may be appropriate, shall be deemed not to be duly stamped unless the Revenue Commissioners have expressed their opinion thereon in accordance with Section 12 of the Stamp Act, 1891.
This is a recommendation from the Seanad which relieves the taxpayer who was charged stamp duty on the conveyance of a house and land at the rate of 5 per cent.; the relief proposed is that in certain circumstances the Revenue Commissioners will reduce the stamp duty to 1 per cent. I ask the Dáil to agree with the recommendation which has been made by the Seanad, and if the House is disposed to accept the recommendation to-day I shall be grateful.