may be applied in such manner and in such proportions and at such time or times as the directors of the company may determine as a reserve fund for meeting contingencies, or for repairing improving or maintaining any of the property of the company, or for payment of interest or dividend, or for any other: purpose for which the earnings of the company may be properly applied.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in the Income Tax Acts, any sum received by a railway company out of the said account shall not be charged to income tax except so far as any part thereof may, at any time, be applied for the payment of interest or dividends, and the amount so applied shall be assessed and charged to income tax for the year of assessment next following the end of the year or period in respect of which such interest or dividends were paid:
Provided that, if the total amount so applied by the railway companies for the payment of interest and dividends in respect of the three years nineteen hundred and twenty-one, nineteen hundred and twenty-two, and nineteen hundred and twenty-three is less than thirty million pounds, the deficiency (that is to say, the amount representing the difference between the said total amount and the sum of thirty million pounds) shall be assessed and charged to income tax for the year 1924-25.
(6) For the purpose of such assessment, the deficiency shall be apportioned in manner herein after mentioned amongst such of the railway companies as have applied for the payment of interest and dividends in respect of the said three years less than one-half of the amount received by them out of the said account, and each such company shall be assessed and charged to income tax on the amount so apportioned to it:
Provided that, where any company so assessed applies for the payment. of interest or dividends in respect of any year subsequent to the year nineteen hundred and twenty-three any part of the sums received by it from the said account, so much of the amount so applied as is equal to the amount for which the company was assessed under the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not be charged to income tax.
(7) For the purposes of such apportionment, there shall, in the case of each of the companies amongst which
