Finance Act 1989

65 Employee share schemes: material interest. U.K.

In Schedule 9 to the Taxes Act 1988 the following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 39—

“ Shares subject to an employee benefit trust

40 (1) Where an individual has an interest in shares or obligations of the company as a beneficiary of an employee benefit trust, the trustees shall not be regarded as associates of his by reason only of that interest unless sub-paragraph (3) below applies in relation to him.

(2) In this paragraph “employee benefit trust” has the same meaning as in paragraph 7 of Schedule 8.

(3) This sub-paragraph applies in relation to an individual if at any time on or after 14th March 1989—

(a) the individual, either on his own or with any one or more of his associates, or

(b) any associate of his, with or without other such associates,

has been the beneficial owner of, or able (directly or through the medium of other companies or by any other indirect means) to control, more than 25per cent., or in the case of a share option scheme which is not a savings-related share option scheme more than 10 per cent., of the ordinary share capital of the company.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (9) to (12) of paragraph 7 of Schedule 8 shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph in relation to an individual as they apply for the purposes of that paragraph in relation to an employee.”