Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976

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Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“absolute interest”, in relation to property, includes the interest of a person who has a general power of appointment over the property;

“accountable person” means a person who is accountable for the payment of tax by virtue of section 35;

“benefit” includes any estate, interest, income or right;

“child” includes—

(a) a stepchild;

(b) a child adopted—

(i) under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1974; or

(ii) under an adoption law, other than the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1974, being an adoption that has, in the place where the law applies, substantially the same effect in relation to property rights (including the law of succession) as an adoption under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1974, has in the State in relation to such rights;

“Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;

“date of the disposition” means—

(a) in the case of a will, the date of the testator's death;

(b) in the case of an intestacy or a partial intestacy, the date of death of the intestate;

(c) in the case of a benefit under Part IX or section 56 of the Succession Act, 1965 , the date of death of the relevant testator or other deceased person, and correspondingly in the case of an analogous benefit under the law of another territory;

(d) in the case of a disposition which consists of the failure to exercise a right or a power, the date of the latest time when the disponer could have exercised the right or the power if he were sui juris and not under any physical disability; and

(e) in any other case, the date on which the act (or where more than one act is involved, the last act) of the disponer was done by which he provided or bound himself to provide the property comprised in the disposition;

“date of the gift” means the date of the happening of the event upon which the donee, or any person in right of the donee or on his behalf, becomes beneficially entitled in possession to the benefit, and a reference to the time when a gift is taken shall be construed as a reference to the date of the gift;

“date of the inheritance” means—

(a) in the case where the successor or any person in right of the successor or on his behalf becomes entitled in possession to the benefit on the happening of any such event as is referred to in section 3 (2), the date of the event;

(b) in the case of a gift which becomes an inheritance by reason of its being taken under a disposition where the date of the disposition is within two years prior to the death of the disponer, the date which would have been the date of the gift if the entitlement were a gift; and

(c) in any other case, the date of the latest death which had to occur for the successor, or any person in right of the successor or on his behalf, to become beneficially entitled in possession to the benefit,

and a reference to the time when an inheritance is taken shall be construed as a reference to the date of the inheritance;

“discretionary trust” means any trust whereby, or by virtue or in consequence of which, property is held on trust to apply, or with a power to apply, the income or capital or part of the income or capital of the property for the benefit of any person or persons or of any one or more of a number or of a class of persons whether at the discretion of trustees or any other person and notwithstanding that there may be a power to accumulate all or any part of the income;

“disponer”, in relation to a disposition, means the person who, for the purpose of the disposition, directly or indirectly provided the property comprised in the disposition, and in any case where more than one person provided the property each shall be deemed to be the disponer to the extent that he so provided the property; and for the purposes of this definition—

(a) the testator shall be the disponer in the case of a disposition referred to in paragraph (k) of the definition of “disposition”;

(b) the intestate shall be the disponer in the case of a disposition referred to in paragraph (l) of that definition;

(c) the deceased person referred to in paragraph (m) of that definition shall be the disponer in the case of a disposition referred to in that paragraph; and

(d) a person who has made with any other person a reciprocal arrangement by which that other person provided property comprised in the disposition shall be deemed to have provided that property;

“disposition” includes—

(a) any act or omission by a person as a result of which the value of his estate immediately after such act or omission is less than it would be but for such act or omission;

(b) any trust, covenant, agreement or arrangement, whether made by a single operation or by associated operations;

(c) the creation of a debt or other right enforceable against the disponer personally or against any estate or interest he may have in property;

(d) the payment of money;

(e) the allotment of shares in a company;

(f) the grant or the creation of any benefit;

(g) the grant or the creation of any lease, mortgage, charge, licence, option, power, partnership or joint tenancy or other estate or interest in or over any property;

(h) the release, forfeiture, surrender or abandonment of any debt or benefit, or the failure to exercise a right; and, for the purpose of this paragraph, a debt or benefit shall be deemed to have been released when it has become unenforceable by action through lapse of time (save to the extent that it is recovered subsequent to its becoming so unenforceable);

(i) the exercise of a general power of appointment in favour of any person other than the holder of the power;

(j) a donatio mortis causa;

(k) a will or other testamentary disposition;

(l) an intestacy, whether total or partial;

(m) the payment of a share as a legal right under Part IX of the Succession Act, 1965 , to a deceased person's spouse, or the making of provision for a widow or child of a deceased person under section 56 or section 117 of the Succession Act, 1965 , or an analogous share or provision paid or made on the death of a deceased person to or for the benefit of any person under the law of another territory; and

(n) a resolution passed by a company which is deemed by subsection (3) to be a disposition;

“donee” means a person who takes a gift;

“entitled in possession” means having a present right to the enjoyment of property as opposed to having a future such right, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing a person shall also, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be entitled in possession to an interest or share in a partnership, joint tenancy or estate of a deceased person, in which he is a partner, joint tenant or beneficiary, as the case may be, but he shall not be deemed to be entitled in possession to an interest in expectancy until an event happens whereby this interest ceases to be an interest in expectancy;

“general power of appointment” includes every power, right, or authority whether exercisable only by will or otherwise which would enable the holder thereof to appoint or dispose of property to whomsoever he thinks fit or to obtain such power, right or authority, but exclusive of any power exercisable solely in a fiduciary capacity under a disposition not made by himself, or exercisable by a tenant for life under the Settled Land Act, 1882, or as mortgagee;

“gift” means a gift which a person is by this Act deemed to take;

“inheritance” means an inheritance which a person is by this Act deemed to take;

“interest in expectancy” includes an estate in remainder or reversion and every other future interest, whether vested or contingent, but does not include a reversion expectant on the determination of a lease;

“limited interest” means—

(a) an interest (other than a leasehold interest) for the duration of a life or lives or for a period certain; or

(b) any other interest which is not an absolute interest;

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1941 , and includes a body established under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act, 1971 ;

“market value”, in relation to property, means the market value thereof ascertained in accordance with sections 15, 16 and 17;

“minor child” means a child who has not attained the age of 21 years;

“personal property” means any property other than real property;

“personal representative” means the executor or administrator for the time being of a deceased person and includes any person who takes possession of or intermeddles with the property of a deceased person and also includes any person having, in relation to the deceased person, under the law of another country, any functions corresponding to the functions, for administration purposes under the law of the State, of an executor or administrator;

“property” includes rights and interests of any description;

“real property” means real and chattel real property;

“regulations” means regulations made under section 71;

“relative” means a relative within the meaning of subsection (4);

“return” means such a return as is referred to in section 36;

“share”, in relation to a company, includes any interest whatsoever in the company which is analogous to a share in the company, and “shareholder” shall be construed accordingly;

“special power of appointment” means a power of appointment which is not a general power of appointment;

“successor” means a person who takes an inheritance;

“tax” means any tax chargeable under this Act;

“valuation date” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21.

(2) For the purpose of the definition of “general power of appointment” contained in subsection (1), a person shall be deemed to have a general power of appointment—

(a) notwithstanding that he is not sui juris or is under a physical disability;

(b) over money which he has a general power to charge on property; and

(c) over property of which he is tenant in tail in possession.

(3) For the purpose of the definition of “disposition” contained in subsection (1), the passing by a company of a resolution which, by the extinguishment or alteration of the rights attaching to any share of the company, results, directly or indirectly, in the estate of any shareholder of the company being increased in value at the expense of the estate of any other shareholder, shall be deemed to be a disposition made by that other shareholder if he could have prevented the passing of the resolution by voting against it or otherwise; and in this subsection, “share” includes a debenture and loan stock and “shareholder” includes a debenture holder and a holder of loan stock.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, the following persons and no other person shall be relatives of another person, that is to say—

(a) the spouse of that other person;

(b) the father, mother, and any child, uncle or aunt of that other person;

(c) any child (other than that other person), and any child of a child, of any person who is by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) a relative of that other person; and

(d) the spouse of a person who is by virtue of paragraph (b) or (c) a relative of that other person;

(e) the grandparent of that other person.

(5) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) the relationship between a child, adopted in the manner referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “child” contained in subsection (1), and any other person, or between other persons, that would exist if such child had been born to the adoptor or adoptors in lawful wedlock, shall be deemed to exist between such child and that other person or between those other persons, and the relationship of any such child and any person that existed prior to his being so adopted shall be deemed to have ceased; and

(b) an illegitimate child who has not been—

(i) legitimated; or

(ii) adopted under—

(I) the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1974; or

(II) an adoption law other than the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1974, having the effect referred to in paragraph (b) (ii) of the definition of “child” contained in subsection (1),

shall be the child of his mother.

(6) In this Act, references to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.

(7) In this Act, a reference to a section or Schedule is a reference to a section of or Schedule to this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(8) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.