asked the Minister for Finance if he will indicate the number of charities already exempt from liability to income tax under section 333 (1) (b) of the Income Tax Act, 1967.
Written Answers. - Charities Tax Exemption.
34.
A body of persons established for charitable purposes only may claim exemption from tax under the provisions of sections 333 and 334 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, in respect of income applied to those charitable purposes. Charity exemption has been available in this country since the extension of income tax to Ireland in 1853 and the latest available information from the papers still extant and retained in the office of the Revenue Commissioners is that charitable status for tax purposes was granted in 4,432 cases and refused in 495 cases. The Revenue Commissioners have not compiled a record of approved cases which are still in existence and for which tax which would otherwise be directly assessed has been foregone and do not have a record of charities which have ceased to exist. In the circumstances it is not possible to determine the number of approved cases in existence and benefiting from the exemption provided for under section 333 (1) (b) of the Income Tax Act, 1967.