Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

444 Life policies issued before 5th August 1965

(1) This section applies in relation to policies of life assurance issued before 5th August 1965 by a company carrying on life assurance business, being policies which—

(a) provide for benefits consisting to any extent of investments of a specified description or of a sum of money to be determined by reference to the value of such investments, but

(b) do not provide for the deduction from those benefits of any amount by reference to tax chargeable in respect of chargeable gains.

(2) Where—

(a) the investments of the company’s life assurance fund, so far as referable to those policies, consist wholly or mainly of investments of the description so specified, and

(b) on the company becoming liable under any of those policies for any such benefits (including benefits to be provided on the surrender of a policy), a chargeable gain accrues to the company from the disposal, in meeting or for the purpose of meeting that liability, of investments of that description forming part of its life assurance fund, or would so accrue if the liability were met by or from the proceeds of such a disposal,

then the company shall be entitled as against the person receiving the benefits to retain out of those benefits a part not exceeding in amount or value corporation tax, at the rate specified in subsection (3) below, in respect of the chargeable gain referred to in paragraph (b) above, computed without regard to any amount retained under this subsection.

(3) The amount to be retained under subsection (2) above shall, subject to subsection (4) below, be computed by reference to the rate of corporation tax for the time being in force or, if no rate of corporation tax has yet been fixed for the financial year, the rate last in force.

(4) In so far as the chargeable gain represents or would represent a gain belonging or allocated to, or reserved for, policy holders, the amount to be retained shall be computed by reference to a rate of tax not exceeding 37.5 per cent.