§ MR. JOSEPH DEVLIN (Kilkenny, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that The Inland Revenue Act, 1880, Section 43, authorised, for the purpose of the assessment on licensed premises of Excise license duties, the addition of 20 per cent, as an addition to the valuation of such premises in Ireland alone as valued under The Irish Valuation Act, 1852; that such addition was authorised on the ground that such premises were not then valued under the Valuation Act on the same level as similar premises in England; that the recent decision of the Irish Court of Appeal in the case of Armstrong v. the Commissioners of Valuation will henceforth compel the valuation of licensed premises to be made on the same principles as in England, the Government will insist on the addition to the valuation for Excise purposes which is 40 authorised by the Act of 1880; and whether, if necessary, an amendment will be made in the law by which such addition may be made.
§ MR. ATKINSONThis is not a matter for determination by the Irish Executive. But I am informed by the Board of Inland Revenue that in assessing license duty on public-houses, it is not the intention of the Board to add the 20 per cent., or any portion there of, authorised by the 43 Section(7) of the 43 and 44 Vict. cap. 20., to the Poor Law Valuation in the case of a new general valuation such as that made some time ago for Belfast, where the new valuation represents the true annual value of the licensed premises, and intimation to this effect has been given to the Commissioner of Valuation. It is not proposed to disturb the existing system in other cases. No change in the law is therefore necessary.