Finance Act, 1949

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PART V.

Stamp Duties.

Alteration of stamp duties on leases,

24.—(1) The stamp duties chargeable under paragraph (3) of the heading “Lease or Tack” in the First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, as amended by subsequent enactments, in respect of any consideration which consists of any money, stock or security (other than rent) for a lease shall, notwithstanding any other Act, be at the rate of two pounds ten shillings for every fifty pounds or fractional part of fifty pounds of the amount or value of such consideration.

(2) Where—

(a) the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a lease consists of any money, stock or security (other than rent) the amount or value of which does not exceed five hundred pounds, and

(b) the lease contains a statement that the transaction thereby effected does not form part of a larger transaction or of a series of transactions in respect of which the amount or value or the aggregate amount or value of the consideration other than rent exceeds five hundred pounds, and

(c) the lease is not a lease as respects which part of the consideration therefor consists of a rent exceeding twenty pounds a year,

subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the duty chargeable in respect of the consideration, or part thereof, which consists of any money, stock or security.

(3) Where—

(a) the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a lease consists of any money, stock or security (other than rent) the amount or value of which exceeds five hundred pounds but does not exceed one thousand pounds, and

(b) the lease contains a statement that the transaction effected thereby does not form part of a larger transaction or a series of transactions, and

(c) the lease is not a lease as respects which part of the consideration therefor consists of a rent exceeding twenty pounds a year,

subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the duty chargeable in respect of the consideration, or part thereof, which consists of any money, stock or security, but duty shall, notwithstanding any other Act, be chargeable in respect thereof as follows:

Where the amount or value of the consideration, or part thereof—

(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect if, but only if, the lease contains a statement by the lesse certifyingthat the person who becomes entitled to the entire beneficial interest in the lessee's interest under the lease (or, where more than one person becomes entitled to a beneficial interest therein, each of them) is some specified one of the following:

(a) an Irish citizen,

(b) a person who is for the time being ordinarily resident in the State and who was ordinarily resident in the State continuously during the three years immediately preceding the 15th day of October, 1947,

(c) a body corporate incorporated in the State on or before the 15th day of October, 1947,

(d) a body corporate incorporated outside the State which, on or before the 15th day of October, 1947, has filed with the registrar of companies the documents and particulars mentioned in subsection (1) of section 274 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908,

(e) a person lawfully carrying on a business which comes within the provisions of any paragraph of subsection (1) of section 9 of the Control of Manufactures Act, 1934 (No. 36 of 1934), or

(f) a body corporate incorporated in the State after the 15th day of October, 1947, where the issued shares of each class are, to an extent exceeding one-half (in nominal value) thereof, in the beneficial ownership of persons each of whom is within one of paragraphs (a) to (e) of this subsection.

(5) In the case of a lease as respects which, by virtue of subsection (4) of this section, the provisions of subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section have no effect, the stamp duties chargeable under paragraph (3) of the heading “Lease or Tack” in the First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, as amended by subsequent enactments, in respect of any consideration which consists of any money, stock or security (other than rent) for the lease shall, notwithstanding any other Act, be at the rate (in this section referred to as the higher rate) of twenty-five pounds per cent. of the amount or value of such consideration.

(6) (a) Any lease (not being executed in good faith and for valuable consideration) shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be a lease operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos, and the consideration for any lease shall not for this purpose be deemed to be valuable consideration where the Revenue Commissioners are of opinion that, by reason of inadequacy of consideration or other circumstances, the lease confers a substantial benefit on the lessee.

(b) This section shall apply to any lease operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos, and any reference in this section to the amount or value of any consideration shall be construed in relation to duty chargeable on such lease as a reference to the minimum amount or value that would be necessary in order that the lease, any rent thereunder remaining unchanged, would not be a lease operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos.

(7) (a) This subsection applies to every lease such as is referred to in the foregoing subsections of this section, whether it is or is not a lease operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos, unless the person becoming entitled to the entire beneficial interest in the lessee's interest under the lease (or, where more than one person becomes entitled to a beneficial interest therein, each of them) is within one of paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (4) of this section.

(b) If, at the expiration of thirty days after the execution thereof, a lease to which this subsection applies is not stamped or is not stamped at the higher rate, a sum equal to twice the amount of the duty at the higher rate shall thereupon be a debt due to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund by the lessee, or in a case of lessees, by such lessees jointly and severally, and shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners and the said sum shall be recoverable at the suit of the Attorney General in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) The Revenue Commissioners may, if they think fit, at any time after the first execution of a lease to which this subsection applies, mitigate or remit any sum recoverable under paragraph (b) of this subsection.