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Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs debate -
Wednesday, 23 Apr 1997

SECTION 15.

Amendment No. 32 has already been discussed with No. 14.

I move amendment No. 32:

In page 27, before section 15, to insert the following new section:

"15.—(1) A person shall be entitled to deduct from his taxable income such sum as he has incurred in payment of fees in respect of part-time third level education.

(2) A company shall be entitled to deduct from its taxable income such sum as it has paid to its employees to defray the fees incurred by them in respect of part-time third-level education.

(3) No such payment as aforesaid by a company shall be treated as a gift for tax purposes.".

Amendment put and declared lost.

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 32, lines 7 to 44, to delete subsections (2) and (3), and substitute the following:

"(2) Section 29 of the Finance Act, 1993, is hereby amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘approved garden':

‘(a) by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, to be a garden which is intrinsically of significant horticultural scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic interest, and',

(b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of ‘qualifying expenditure':

"‘qualifying expenditure", in relation to an approved gardell, means expenditure incurred, by the person who owns or occupies the approved garden, on one or more of the following—

(a) the maintenance or restoration of the approved garden, and

(b) to the extent that the aggregate expenditure in a chargeable period does not exceed £5,000—

(i) the repair, maintenance or restoration of an approved object in the approved garden,

(ii) the installation, maintenance or replacement of a security alarm system in the approved garden, and

(iii) public liability insurance for the approved garden;', and

(c) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition of ‘qualifying expenditure':

"‘security alarm system" means an electrical apparatus installed as a fixture in the approved garden which, when activated, is designed to give notice to the effect that there is an intruder present or attempting to enter the approved garden in which it is installed.'.

(3) (a) Subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a), and paragraph (d), of subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection (2)shall be deemed to have come into operation and had effect as on and from the 12th day of March, 1996.

(b) Paragraph (c) of subsection (I) shall apply and have effect as respects qualifying expenditure incurred in a chargeable period being—

(i) where the chargeable period is a year of assessment, the year 1995-96 and any subsequent year of assessment, or

(ii) where the chargeable period is an accounting period of a company, an accounting period beginning on or after the 6th day of April, 1995.

(c) Subsection (1), other than subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) and paragraphs (c) and (d) thereof, and paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) shall apply and have effect as respects qualifying expenditure incurred in a chargeable period being—

(i) where the chargeable period is a year of assessment, the year 1997-98 and any subsequent year of assessment, or

(ii) where the chargeable period is an accounting period of a company, an accounting period beginning on or after the 6th day of April, 1997.".

This amendment relates to improvements in tax relief for heritage buildings, involving an extension of the definition and the different reliefs on expenditure which can be applied to such buildings, including the gardens, on which tax relief can be obtained. This has been the subject of negotiation with the Heritage Council and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

As a former Minister for Tourism and Trade I remember lobbying the Department of Finance on section 29 after the publication of the 1993 Finance Bill in regard to some changes to it. Is the purpose of these additional changes to relax the rules?

I welcomed the change at that time and welcome this additional worthwhile one.

Amendment agreed to.
Section 15, as amended, agreed to.
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