Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

95 Taxation of dealer’s receipts on purchase by company of own shares

(1) Where a company purchases its own shares from a dealer, the purchase price shall be taken into account in computing the profits of the dealer chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D; and accordingly—

(a) tax shall not be chargeable under Schedule F in respect of any distribution represented by any part of the price, and

(b) the dealer shall not be entitled in respect of the distribution to a tax credit under section 231, and

(c) sections 208 and 234(1) shall not apply to the distribution.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above a person is a dealer in relation to shares of a company if the price received on their sale by him otherwise than to the company would be taken into account in computing his profits chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, in subsection (1) above—

(a) the reference to the purchase of shares includes a reference to the redemption or repayment of shares and to the purchase of rights to acquire shares, and

(b) the reference to the purchase price includes a reference to any sum payable on redemption or repayment.

(4) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to—

(a) the redemption of fixed-rate preference shares, or

(b) the redemption, on terms settled or substantially settled before 6th April 1982, of other preference shares issued before that date,

if in either case the shares were issued to and continuously held by the person from whom they are redeemed.

(5) In this section—

• “fixed-rate preference shares” means shares which—

  (a)

  were issued wholly for new consideration, and

  (b)

  do not carry any right either to conversion into shares or securities of any other description or to the acquisition of any additional shares or securities, and

  (c)

  do not carry any right to dividends other than dividends which—

  (i)

  are of a fixed amount or at a fixed rate per cent. of the nominal value of the shares, and

  (ii)

  together with any sum paid on redemption, represent no more than a reasonable commercial return on the consideration for which the shares were issued;

• “new consideration” has the meaning given by section 254; and

• “shares” includes stock.