asked the Minister for Finance whether he can state (a) the total amount of arrears of income tax assessed as due to the British Exchequer, and assessed by the Revenue Department for collection into the Free State Exchequer; and (b) the total amount of those arrears actually collected in the financial years 1922-3, 1923-4, 1924-5, 1925-6, 1926-7, and 1927-8.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - COLLECTION OF INCOME TAX.
Income tax is accounted for on the basis of a year of account, i.e., assessments actually made in a particular financial year, irrespective of the years to which the assessments relate. The charge raised in any year, therefore, includes a certain amount of duty in respect of earlier years, but it would not be practicable to segregate the figure into the various years of assessment.
Since the 1st April, 1923, when the Revenue Commissioners began to function, the following amounts of income tax have been collected in respect of assessments made in 1922-23 and earlier years:—
|
£ |
|
|
Collected in1923-24 |
3,461,295 |
|
,, 1924-25 |
1,023,743 |
|
,, 1925-26 |
526,063 |
|
,, 1926-27 |
270,728 |
|
,, 1927-28 |
103,638 |
|
Total |
£5,385,467 |
It should be mentioned that while the bulk of the arrears shown as collected in 1925-26 and subsequent years was abnormal, a large portion of the collection shown for the year 1923-24 represented the normal receipts of that year.
May I take it that the estimated amount of about five millions would cover arrears of income tax originally due to the British Exchequer and is not connected, in any way, with the income tax that would, in the ordinary way, fall due to the Exchequer here?
Some of it would fall due because, as I pointed out, there is always a collection of arrears in every year and certain portion of that was quite a normal collection in the first year when we took over. Although it was really arrears it was arrears of a normal type.
Would the Minister give the approximate amount of the income tax that I referred to in the question?
I can only ask the Deputy to study the figures when he has them placed before him.