Phillips (Inspector of Taxes) v Limerick County Council

• Judge: The President,O’Shaughnessy and Hanna.
• Judgment Date: 21 January 1925
• Court: High Court

Income tax - Sch D Case III - interest – deduction.

A County Council raised money each year for the purpose of the District Councils and Poor Law Unions within its administrative area by rates struck to meet their requirements and this, when raised, remains in the county fund under the control of respondents earning interest pending the quarterly demand of the District Councils and Unions. These latter bodies had paid to the Land Commission and Board of Works upon loans raised for certain purposes in their respective districts, interest in excess of the interest earned by the county fund.

The County Council appealed against the assessment upon them for the interest in question, claiming that the total amount of interest paid upon loans “borrowed for purposes within the administrative county” was in excess of the total interest received.

Held, the Special Commissioners in deference to decisions by the County Court Judge in previous years discharged the assessment, and on the matter being argued on a case stated in the High Court, judgment was delivered in favour of the revenue, with costs.

Legislation

Sch D Case III.

£	£
For half-year ended 30 September 1919	301  15 6
Less interest paid to Commissioners of Public Works	24  3  0	277  12  6
For half-year ended 31 March 1920	146  8  1
Less interest paid to Commissioners of Public Works	44  5  11
102  2  2
Total for year ended 31 March 1920	379  14  8

(Copies of the abstract of accounts of receipts and expenditure of the respondents for the two half-years abovementioned are attached hereunto and form part of this case [Not included in present print]).

4. During the year ended 31 March 1920, the administrative county of Limerick, hereinafter referred to as the administrative county, comprised the following rural districts, Croom, Glin, Kilmallock, Limerick, Mitchelstown, Newcastle, Rathkeale and Tipperary, and the following Poor Law Unions were wholly or partly situate in the administrative county: Croom, Listowel, Kilmallock, Limerick, Fermoy, Newcastle, Rathkeale and Tipperary.

5. Separate accounts of receipts and payments were kept by each of the councils of the rural districts and by each of the Boards of Guardians of the Poor Law Unions mentioned in para 4.

6. Each of these rural district councils and Boards of Guardians had a treasurer, hereinafter referred to as the rural district treasurers and the union treasurers respectively-with whom receipts were lodged and by whom payments...