Financial Provisions of the Government of Ireland Act

According to the Government of Ireland Act, the revenues of the two parliaments in Dublin and Belfast were to come from the Transferred Taxes (such as death and motor vehicle duties) and Reserved Taxes (such as custom and excise duties and income and corporation taxes). The latter were to collected by Imperial government and maintained at the same level throughout the UK. An ‘imperial contribution’ was to be taken from the Reserved Taxes to pay for defence, foreign affairs and the UK’s debt. The amount to be deducted would be determined annually by a Joint Exchequer Board made up of British and Irish officials. With what they received from Transferred Taxes and ‘reserved revenue’, Dublin and Belfast had to fund those governmental duties for which they were now responsible such as law and order and social services.

These issues were to prove contentious during the Treaty negotiations.

Back