Finance Act, 1958

Exemptions from charge to tax under section 32.

33.—(1) The following payments shall be exempted from the operation of subsection (1) of section 32 of this Act:

(a) payments to a superannuation fund approved (whether in whole or in part) by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of section 32 of the Finance Act, 1921 ;

(b) payments made by way of premium pursuant to a retirement benefits scheme, the benefits whereunder are secured by premiums payable by the body corporate, with or without contributions by the directors or employees affected, under life or endowment assurance or life annuity contracts, being a scheme which was in operation before the 24th day of April, 1958,

subject to the proviso that paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not apply in relation to a payment made in respect of a director or employee admitted to membership of the scheme after the commencement of this Part of this Act or in respect of a person who at any time during the year of assessment is—

(i) a proprietary director,

(ii) a part-time director,

(iii) a proprietary employee, or

(iv) a part-time employee.

(2) (a) Neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) of section 32 of this Act shall apply so as to cause any sum to be treated as income as therein mentioned where the retirement benefits scheme in question is—

(i) a statutory superannuation scheme,

(ii) an excepted scheme, or

(iii) a scheme which is for the time being approved by the Revenue Commissioners under section 34 of this Act.

(b) In this subsection “excepted scheme” means a retirement benefits scheme relating to persons, none of whom is a proprietary director, part-time director, proprietary employee or part-time employee, under the terms of which the aggregate value of all benefits which may be provided for any person cannot exceed £3,000 (where there are more retirement benefits schemes than one subsisting for the time being in connection with the body corporate and relating to persons of the same class, all such schemes taken together being deemed to constitute a single scheme for the purposes of this definition).

(3) Where—

(a) in respect of the provision for a director or employee of any future retirement or other benefits, a sum (in this subsection referred to as the charged sum) has been deemed to be income of his by virtue either of subsection (1) or of subsection (2) of section 32 of this Act,

(b) subsequently the director or employee proves to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, or on appeal to the satisfaction of the Special Commissioners, that no payment in respect of, or in substitution for, the benefits has been made and that some event has occurred by reason whereof no such payment will be made, and

(c) within three years from the time when that event occurred, the director or employee claims relief under this subsection,

the Revenue Commissioners shall give relief in respect of tax on the charged sum by repayment or otherwise as may be appropriate; and, if the director or employee satisfies the Revenue Commissioners, or on appeal the Special Commissioners, as aforesaid in relation to some particular part of the benefits but not the whole thereof, the Revenue Commissioners may give such relief as may seem to them just and reasonable.

(4) Where, apart from this subsection, any sum would be deemed, by virtue of subsection (1) or of subsection (2) of section 32 of this Act, to be income of an employee for any year of assessment, but, for that year, the employee is, under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, either not assessable to income tax in respect of the emoluments of his employment or is so assessable in respect thereof on the basis of the amount received in the State, that subsection shall not apply so as to cause that sum to be deemed to be income of his for that year.