Section 2.

 1. As respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment, the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, is amended as follows -

(a) in subsection (1) of section 3 -

(i) by the insertion of the following definitions before the definition of "higher rate":

"'chargeable tax', in relation to an individual for a year of assessment, means the amount of income tax to which the individual is chargeable for that year of assessment under section 15 in respect of his or her total income for that year including, in the case of an individual assessed to tax in accordance with the provisions of section 1017, the total income, if any, of the individual's spouse;

'general tax credit', in relation to an individual for a year of assessment, means any relief (other than a credit under section 59) applicable for that year of assessment, not by way of deduction from income, but by way of reduction of or deduction from the chargeable tax or by way of repayment thereof when paid, other than a personal tax credit, and such credit shall be determined by reference to the amount of the reduction, deduction or repayment as the case may be;", and

(ii) by the insertion of the following definitions before the definition of "relative":

"'income tax payable', in relation to an individual for a year of assessment, means the chargeable tax less the aggregate of the personal tax credits and general tax credits;