Income Tax Act, 1967.

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Premiums on post-1916 insurances and certain other payments.

143.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and of section 152, any claimant—

(a) who has paid any such premium as is specified in subsection (2); or

(b) who is under any statute or under the terms or conditions of his employment liable to the payment of any sum or to the deduction from his salary or stipend of any sum for the purpose of securing a deferred annuity to his widow or provision for his children after his death,

shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he is to be charged to tax (excluding sur-tax), to have the deduction specified in subsection (3) made from his assessable income.

(2) The premiums referred to in subsection (1) (a) are any premiums paid by the claimant on a policy of insurance or on a contract for a deferred annuity where—

(a) the insurance or contract was made after the 22nd day of June, 1916—

(i) with any insurance company legally established in the State or in Northern Ireland or in Great Britain or in any other country to which the repealed enactments corresponding to this section would apply but for their repeal, or lawfully carrying on business in the State; or

(ii) with a registered friendly society; or

(iii) in the case of a deferred annuity, with the National Debt Commissioners; and

(b) the insurance, or, as the case may be, the deferred annuity, is on the life of the claimant or on the life of his wife; and

(c) the insurance or contract was made by him.

(3) The deduction to be made from the assessable income of the claimant shall be—

(a) where the insurance or contract referred to in subsection (2) was made after the 21st day of May, 1953, with any insurance company or friendly society, being a company or society which is registered in the State and managed and controlled therein, an amount equal to two-thirds of the premium paid by him;

(b) in any other case an amount equal to one-half of the premium paid by him or, as the case may be, of the sum paid by him or deducted from his salary or stipend.

(4) Where—

(a) a premium has been paid for an insurance, or a contract for a deferred annuity, made with an insurance company, and

(b) a deduction in respect of the premium could be made under subsection (1) but for the fact that the company is not such a company as is referred to in subsection (2) (a) (i),

that fact shall be disregarded, and a deduction in respect of the premium may be made under subsection (1) accordingly, if—

(i) the claimant is resident in the State but has previously been resident outside the State for a continuous period of not less than ten years,

(ii) the insurance or contract was made before the continuous period of residence outside the State ended, and

(iii) either there is no income arising from any security or possession in any place outside the State or, where there is income so arising, section 76 (1) applies to the computation of tax in respect of that income.

(5) No deduction shall, as regards insurances or contracts for deferred annuities—

(a) be given except in respect of premiums or other payments payable on policies for securing a capital sum on death, whether in conjunction with any other benefit or not; or

(b) be given in respect of premiums or payments payable during the period of deferment in respect of a policy of deferred assurance:

Provided that this subsection shall not affect premiums or payments payable—

(i) on policies or contracts made in connection with any superannuation or bona fide pension scheme for the benefit of the employees of any employer or of persons engaged in any particular trade, profession or business or for the benefit of the wife or widow of any such employee or person or of his children or other dependants; or

(ii) on any policy taken out by a teacher in a secondary school pending the establishment of a superannuation or pension scheme for those teachers.

(6) Where a premium is paid by a wife out of her separate income in respect of an insurance on her own life or the life of her husband or a contract for any deferred annuity on her own life or the life of her husband, the same deduction shall be made as if the premium were a premium paid by her husband for an insurance on his own life or for a contract for a deferred annuity on his own life, and this section shall apply accordingly.

(7) References in this Act to relief in respect of life assurance premiums shall be construed as including references to deductions under the foregoing subsections of this section.