asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) what revenue has been received in each of the financial years since the passing of the Finance Act, 1935, as a result of the enactment of Section 6 of that Act; (b) the cost to the Exchequer in each of the said years in connection with the assessment of tax under that section; (c) if he has considered the effect of the tax imposed by Section 6 in discouraging private persons from building interior roads and thus encouraging ribbon building, and (d) if he will consider the advisability of repealing or amending the said section in view of the amount of the revenue received, the work and expense involved in connection with assessments thereunder, and the desirability of encouraging the construction of interior roads.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - The Finance Act, 1935.
I regret that the particulars sought by the Deputy under (a) and (b) are not available. The preparation of a reply under those heads would involve the expenditure of an amount of time and labour that could not be justified in the circumstances. As for the remainder of the question, if a builder working on a building scheme constructs an interior road he may, in the ordinary course, claim the cost of constructing it as a deduction in the computation of his profits. The broad purpose of Section 6 of the Finance Act, 1935, was to secure that a builder should not escape tax on his profits in the common case where the houses which he built in developing an estate were sold by him subject to a head rent. I do not consider that the fact that builders are liable to income-tax on their profits should discourage the building of interior roads or encourage ribbon building.
Whether or not the section applies to the case of a private person who is not a builder and who constructs interior roads depends on the facts. If the Deputy has a particular case in mind perhaps he will be so good as to communicate with me.
I was not thinking of the case of a builder. I was thinking of the case of a private owner. I think the Minister will agree with me that the tax is one of the reasons why sites for building houses are so few and so difficult to obtain. However, I will have pleasure in giving the Minister the particulars.