The Gazette 1949-1952

Society is concerned it is still regarded as only a half measure, and that solicitors and their clients will not consider that justice has been done until the duty in the case of lands and houses has been reduced to the same level as the duty on transfers o f Stock Exchange securities. In this connection it should be remembered that until 1947 the Stamp Duty on transfers of land was at the same rate as on transfers of stocks and shares. The 1947 Act raised the duty on transfers o f stocks and shares to 2 per cent, and the duty on transfers o f land and houses to 5 per cent. In his Budget Speech the Minister announced that the 2 per cent, duty on transfers o f stocks or marketable securities would be reduced to the original 1 per cent, as regards transfers o f stocks or marketable securities issued by an Irish company. In my opinion a transfer of Irish land or house property to an Irish citizen should not be treated less favourably than a transfer of stocks and shares in an Irish company. R ents and L easehold C ommission : The Society’s memorandum on the subject of the Rent Acts has already been submitted and oral evidence has been given before the Commission. The Memorandum on the Landlord and Tenant Act, prepared by this Society, is in draft form and will be submitted to the Commission as soon as possible. S olicitors B ill : Charles Dickens,, who was a disgruntled law clerk, took his revenge on the profession, inter alia, by portraying the law’s delays in the famous case o f Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. The technique o f delay described in that famous case has unfortunately been adopted by successive Governments in their attitude towards the Solicitors Bill. The Bill was first introduced by the Society in 1943- It is essentially a non-contentious matter and its principles and outstanding provisions are for the purpose of safeguarding the public in . their dealings with our profession. Its secondary importance is to modernise the profession’s domestic affairs such as examinations and matters of that sort. The public stand to gain a great deal from this B ill; the profession relatively little materially but much from the additional confidence and trust o f the public which will result from it. As I have said the Bill was first introduced in 1943 during the regime o f a previous Government. Despite many assurances that the Bill would receive speedy consideration its progress has been very disappointing. With the change of Government, three years ago, it was hoped that the desirability 5

and Cox as the representatives of this Society on this Committee. This undoubtedly is a step in the right direction but as I have mentioned in my previous paragraph it is a pity that this principle of an Examining Committee has not been extended into other aspects of much needed legal reform. It is hoped that a report of this Committee, and other Committees that may be set up to deal with Law Reform, will not meet with the same fate as many other Government Commissions have met in the past and that the delay in dealing with Committee suggestions and bringing about reforms will not be such as to render them obsolete even before they are introduced. S tamp D uties : The profession still continues to receive complaints from vendors and purchasers as to the financial hardship imposed on the public by the new rates of stamp duties on the sale and transfer o f land and house property under the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947. This burden is particularly heavy in the case o f young married couples and when it is realised that it is seldom possible to buy a house nowadays for less than £2,000 it will be seen that one o f the immediate effects of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1947, by raising the duty from 1 per cent, to 5 per cent, was to levy a new tax o f at least £80 on many newly married couples. The Society protested against this duty when it was first imposed and renewed its protest' each succeeding year. The position was alleviated to some extent by the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950,which authorised a reduction of the duty to 1 per cent, where new houses are purchased by means o f a grant under the Small Dwellings (Acquisition) Acts. The Small Dwellings Acts apply however in only a limited number o f cases. In the vast majority of cases including sales of agricultural land the 5 per­ cent. duty continued to be enacted. The case o f a newly married couple is perhaps the most extreme case o f hardship. The view o f the Society is, however, that a tax o f 5 per cent, on the sale or transfer of house property or lands cannot be justified under any circumstances. In the Budget Speech of the Minister for Finance, delivered on May 2nd, there was a welcome but only partial remission o f the duty. I f the next Government implements the Minister’s proposals the 5 per cent, duty in the case o f land and houses will be reduced to 3 per cent. Purchasers of new houses for which a grant can be obtained under the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950, will, of course, still continue to pay the 1 per cent. rate. I would like to thank the Minister for this partial relief but I should like to point out that as far as this