Financial Resolutions Nos. 11 and 12 will be taken together.
Financial Resolution No. 11. Excise—Gaming Machine Licences.
I move:
(1) That, in lieu of the duty of excise imposed by section 43 (6) of the Finance Act, 1975 (No. 6 of 1975), there shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 28th day of February, 1980, on the grant of a gaming machine licence a duty of excise at whichever of the following rates is appropriate having regard to the period for which the licence is to remain in force, that is to say, where the period for which the licence is to remain in force—
(a) does not exceed three months, £25 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(b) exceeds three months but does not exceed six months, £50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(c) exceeds six months but does not exceed nine months, £75 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(d) exceeds nine months, £100 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates.
(2) That section 43 of the said Finance Act, 1975, be amended by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (a) of subsection (7):
"(aa) A gaming machine licence granted on or after the 28th day of February, 1980, may, pursuant to a request contained in the application therefor, be expressed to relate only to Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in the period specified in the licence for which it is to remain in force and, where a licence is so expressed—
(i) The duty of excise imposed by subsection (6) of this section shall, as on and from the 28th day of February, 1980, be charged, levied and paid on the grant of the licence at whichever of the following rates is appropriate having regard to the period for which the licence is to remain in force, that is to say, where the period for which the licence is to remain in force—
(A) does not exceed three months, £16.50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(B) exceeds three months but does not exceed six months, £33 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(C) exceeds six months but does not exceed nine months, £49.50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,
(D) exceeds nine months, £66 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates.
(ii) the licence shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsections (3) and (10) (b) of this section, not to be in force on days in the period aforesaid other than Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
(aaa) Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not apply or have effect in relation to gaming machine licences granted on or after the 28th day of February, 1980.".
(3) 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).
The Minister is scraping the pot in earnest as far as resolution No. 12 is concerned. To put a tax on mechanical lighters is scraping the pot. Who thought of that.
We will soon have an excise tax on candles.
As far as resolution No. 11 is concerned I do not have too much sympathy for those who operate one-armed bandits. There are many bandits around the country getting away with a lot but the one-armed bandits relieve people of money that could be used more beneficially.
It takes three pages of legalistic mumbo-jumbo to tax mechanical lighters but there is no reference to the amount of revenue the State will get from this wonderful new tax. Can the Minister give some indication as to the likely revenue in 1980 and 1981 as a result of the imposition of the tax on mechanical lighters?
The estimated yield from the revenue will be £0.3 million. In relation to the point about legalistic mumbo-jumbo I should like to state that the difference between this resolution and the others is that it is the first time a duty is being introduced on mechanical lighters. That is the reason why the regulation has to be set out in detail. On the face of it, that seems to confirm the case Opposition Deputies have been making that we have been looking around everywhere to scrape the reality. I should like to confront Deputies with the reality which is that since 1916 matches have been subject to this tax. The Deputy should be aware that there is a match industry here which is of considerable importance. The 20p tax on mechanical lighters is estimated to equate, as near as possible, to the existing excise duty on matches of 56.6p per standard gross of 7,200 matches. It is in the interest of redressing that balance that the tax has been introduced. I have no doubt that Deputies opposite will agree that it was introduced in the interest of protecting an important Irish industry and that on that basis it is justified.
Will the Minister indicate to the House the cost of collecting this revenue and if there will be any benefit to the State?
I cannot do so because revenue administration is geared to dealing with duties of this nature. The cost will not be anything like the pro rata increase, if that is what the Deputy has in mind.
Question put and agreed to.