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the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947. The existing staff
o f the Adjudication Office are unable to cope with
the resultant increase o f work, and a heavy arrear
of work has accumulated. It is no news to solicitors,
but the public would be astounded to hear that
it may now take six months to have a deed of
conveyance o f a house or an ordinary marriage
settlement assessed for stamp duty, an operation
which two years ago required only a week. In
estimating the additional revenue yielded by the
tax the Minister should take into account its
injurious effects on the machinery o f public
administration and the inconvenience and real
danger o f financial loss to the public whose titles
to property are being endangered owing to the
delay in registration.”
The following resolutions were then proposed
by the Chairman. Seconded by Mr. Arthur Cox,
and, having been put to the meeting, were carried
unanimously.
That bye-law 2 o f the Society be amended
by inserting the words “ Saturday or ” before
“
Sunday ” and by the addition at the end
of the rule o f the words “ not being a Saturday
or Sunday.”
That bye-law 31 be amended by substituting
for the words “ second day o f November ”
in line 1, the words “ the day next following
the last day for receipt o f nominations ” and
for the words “ second day o f November ”
in line 6, the words “ the said day.”
That bye-law 40 be amended by deleting
the words “ on or before the 20th day of
November ” in lines 2 and 3, and the words
“ at its first meeting after its election ” in
lines 7 and 8.
That bye-law 46 be amended by the deletion
o f the words “ which minutes shall afterwards
be copied fairly into a minute book to be
kept for that purpose.”
Mr. Sedn O hUadhaigh proposed and Mr. John
T. Hamerton seconded a vote o f thanks to the
Chairman for his address, and his conduct o f the
meeting, which was carried with acclamation.
The President replied and the proceedings
terminated.
BUDGET RESOLUTIONS
Stamp Duties on Transfers o f Land.
E
very
solicitor will require a copy o f the
parliamentary debates o f 4th May, 1949 (Parlia
mentary Debates, Dail Eireann, Vol. 115 , No. 4).
Price 3d. from the Government Publications Sales
Office, Pearse Street, Dublin.
The debates contain the full text o f Budget
Resolutions Nos. 1 1 and 12, relating to Stamp
Duties. The Budget Resolutions will not become
law until the Finance Act is passed, but the Finance
Act will give retrospective effect to the provisions
o f the Budget Resolutions from May 4th, the date
when they were passed by Dail Eireann.
The object o f Resolution No. 12, is to deal with
the situation arising from the recent decision of
the Supreme Court in O’Sullivan v. the Revenue
Commissioners. Where a lease reserving a fine
was first executed on or after May 4th, the fine
will attract stamp duty at the rates prescribed by
Section 13 o f the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947. If
such a lease is stamped with the duty of
£ 1
per cent., between May 4th and the date o f the
passing o f the Finance Act it will have to be
restamped, within 30 days from the passing of the
Finance Act, with the additional duty. Failure
to pay the full stamp duty within the said period
o f 30 days will give rise to a penalty o f twice the
full stamp duty payable as a debt due to the Minister
for Finance. Leases first executed before May 4th,
will pay only at the rate o f
£ 1
per cent., in
accordance with the decision in O’Sullivan’s case,
but if duty at the new rates had been paid thereon
before April 28th (the date o f the decision of the
Supreme Court) the duty overpaid will not be
refunded, unless the duty was assessed on adjudica
tion and notice o f appeal was served.
Budget Resolution No.
12 is concerned
exclusively with certain loopholes which were
discovered in the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, and
which resulted in evasion o f the 25 per cent. duty.
The transactions which are now declared to attract
the 25 per cent, duty are:—
(a)
A conveyance to an Irish body corporate
(i.e., a Company formed after 15 th October,
1947, at least 51 per cent, o f the share
capital being in Irish hands) where the
purchase price was provided by an un
qualified person (i.e., a person other than
an Irish citizen or other exempted person)
holding shares or a right o f control in the
company, where a mortgage, charge or
debenture is afterwards given to him by
the company for the amount of the purchase
money so provided.
(
b)
A transaction similar to that mentioned
in
(a)
where the security for the money
advanced is an equitable deposit o f the
title deeds.
5