I move:—
(1) That the new import duties which were first imposed by Section 12 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and were (with the exception of the duty on records and other means of reproducing music) continued up to the 1st day of May, 1926, by Section 23 of the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), shall, with the exception aforesaid and the further exception of the duty on blank film on which no picture has been impressed, continue to be charged, levied, and paid on and from the said 1st day of May, 1927. 1926, up to the 1st day of May, 1927.
(2) That whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that any cinematograph film imported into Saorstát Eireann is of an educational character, they shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they think fit to impose, exempt such film from payment of the duty on cinematograph films included in the new import duties mentioned in this Resolution.
(3) That the provisions of Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties mentioned in this Resolution with the substitution of the expression "Saorstát Eireann" for the expression "Great Britain and Ireland."
(4) 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, 1913.
This is a Customs resolution continuing what are commonly called the McKenna duties. The duties are those on motor cars, including motor cycles and tricycles; musical instruments, including gramophones, pianolas and other similar instruments, with the accessories and other component parts thereof; clocks and watches with their component parts; cinematograph films. The duty on blank films is one-third of a penny; on positive films containing pictures ready for exhibition, one penny per lineal foot; negative films (that is films containing photographs from which positives can be printed), 5d. per foot; other goods in the list, duties equal to 33? per cent. of the value of the article.
The yield from the various items during the past year has been as follows:—Cinematograph films, £13,220; clocks and watches, £16,070; motor vehicles, £304,260; musical instruments, £23,020. Two years ago we removed the provision imposing the duties on gramophone records. Last year we gave exemption to films which were held by the Revenue Commissioners to be of an educational character. This year it is proposed to give an exemption to blank films. There are not many cinematograph pictures taken in the Saorstát, and certainly no blank films are made or will be made here; and it is thought that any additional production of pictures will probably be more advantageous than the very small amount of tax which is at present received on blank films, which amounts to about £140 per year.