This Bill is not part of the ordinary procedure of the Oireachtas in relation to financial matters. It is necessitated by the occurrence of a general election during the period in which financial matters were being discussed in Dáil Éireann. The House is aware of the circumstances and probably I need not go into any lengthy explanation.
Four of the Resolutions passed by the Dáil in Committee on Finance on the 3rd May last were given statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act as from the 6th April last, i.e., as from the commencement of the current income-tax year. That Act, however, provides that Financial Resolutions to which statutory effect is thus given shall cease to have statutory effect on a dissolution of the Dáil. A gap, therefore, came into existence which if not bridged would result in a position of confusion and uncertainly, affecting not only the revenue, but also thousands of persons throughout the country, e.g., in relation to deduction of income-tax from payments of ground rent, mortgage interest, dividends, etc. The Bill is designed to put an end to any such uncertainty and to restore the position to what it would have been if the Budget Resolutions in question had continued to have the force of law up to the date of the passing of the Finance Bill.
It will be observed that the Bill gives to the Resolutions a purely temporary life. All the Resolutions with which the Bill deals were introduced afresh in the Dáil prior to the introduction of the Finance Bill, which contains clauses to the same effect as the Resolutions. As the Finance Bill, however, could not become law for some time it was essential that the state of uncertainly to which I have referred should not prevail in the meantime—hence the necessity for this Bill.
