US TAXMAN WANTS A CUT OF LADY EDITH’S REPATRIATION
Authorities try to add VAT to transaction, as West Clare Railway owner lobbies for exemption.
Plans to repatriate former Cavan & Leitrim Railway 4-4-0T No. 3 Lady Edith from the United States have suffered a setback. West Clare Railway owner Jackie Whelan said that revenue authorities in the US were attempting to apply VAT to the transaction. But he added that his own accountants had engaged the services of experts in America, who were lobbying for an exemption. He said: “We are optimistic that we will be able to resolve this problem. There is no problem with the heritage people, it’s the tax authorities who have raised the question of VAT.” So far, it is not clear how much VAT would be payable but, as a contingency, Mr Whelan is launching an appeal fund for €300,000 (£255,000) to cover the possible cost of VAT and shipment. The 3ft gauge locomotive, built by Robert Stephenson & Co. in 1887, was shipped to the US in 1959 and is currently in store at the New Jersey Museum of Transportation requiring a new boiler. Mr Whelan purchased Lady Edith in 2015 (SR446), to bring the engine to his line at Moyasta Junction, near Kilrush. Plans are also in hand to have former West Clare Railway 0-6-2T No. 5 Slieve Callan back in operation at Moyasta Junction by the start of May. Built by Dubs & Co. in Glasgow in 1892, it has received a number of new firebars during the winter. Mr Whelan said: “We anticipate using the steam engine a couple of times a month, depending on bookings. We like to use her on days that we know will be busy.” The railway opened for business this year on April 4 but the opening of a two-storey, 36,000 sq ft transport museum at Moyasta (SR460) has now been put back to 2018. Work on the foundations, which require 5,000 tonnes of fill on the boggy site, was delayed by bad weather in spring. In the longer term, Mr Whelan has plans to re-lay a two-mile section of the Kilkee branch and possibly extend to Doonbeg Golf Club, owned by US President Donald Trump.