Finance Act 1994

98 The distributable pool. U.K.

(1) Schedule 8 to the Taxes Act 1988 (profit-related pay schemes: conditions for registration) shall be amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph 13 (determination of distributable pool by method A) there shall be inserted—

“13A (1) Where a scheme includes provision by virtue of paragraph 13(4) or (5) above the scheme must be so framed that in arriving at the profits for the base year or for the previous profit period any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it are accorded the same accountancy treatment as is accorded to any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it in arriving at the profits in the profit period.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) above—

(a) “profit-related pay” means profit-related pay under whatever scheme;

(b) “secondary Class I contributions” means secondary Class I contributions under Part I of the Social Security Act 1975 or Part I of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975 or Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

(3) Sub-paragraph (1) above shall apply notwithstanding anything in paragraph 19 below.

(4) Where a scheme includes provision by virtue of paragraph 13(4) above the scheme must also include provision that if the pay for the profit period is less than the pay for the base year or for the previous profit period (as the case may be) the percentage to be applied for the purposes of the provision included by virtue of paragraph 13(4) above shall be the increased percentage (instead of any other percentage).

(5) The increased percentage must be one arrived at by—

(a) taking the percentage that would be applied for the purposes of the provision included by virtue of paragraph 13(4) above apart from the provision included by virtue of sub-paragraph (4) above, and

(b) adding the percentage found by expressing the difference in pay as a percentage of the profits for the base year or for the previous profit period (as the case may be).

(6) For the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) the pay for the profit period or for the previous profit period or for the base year is the pay paid to employees in respect of employment in the period or year concerned in the employment unit concerned;

(b) the difference in pay is the difference between the pay for the profit period and the pay for the previous profit period or for the base year (as the case may be);

and any profit-related pay shall be ignored in applying paragraph (a) above.”

(3) After paragraph 14 (determination of distributable pool by method B) there shall be inserted—

“14A (1) Where a scheme includes provision to give effect to paragraph 14(3) above or provision by virtue of paragraph 14(4) above the scheme must be so framed that in arriving at the profits in the preceding period of 12 months any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it are accorded the same accountancy treatment as is accorded to any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it in arriving at the profits in the profit period.

(2) Where a scheme includes provision by virtue of paragraph 14(5) above the scheme must be so framed that in arriving at the profits in the relevant period of 12 months any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it are accorded the same accountancy treatment as is accorded to any profit-related pay and any secondary Class I contributions in respect of it in arriving at the profits in the profit period; and for this purpose the relevant period of 12 months is the period of 12 months immediately preceding the first or only profit period to which the scheme relates.

(3) In sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) above—

(a) “profit-related pay” means profit-related pay under whatever scheme;

(b) “secondary Class I contributions” means secondary Class I contributions under Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall apply notwithstanding anything in paragraph 19 below.

(5) Where a scheme includes provision by virtue of paragraph 14(4) above the scheme must also include provision that if the pay for the profit period is less than the pay for the preceding period of 12 months the percentage to be applied for the purposes of the provision included by virtue of paragraph 14(4) above shall be the increased percentage (instead of any other percentage).

(6) The increased percentage must be one arrived at by—

(a) taking the percentage that would be applied for the purposes of the provision included by virtue of paragraph 14(4) above apart from the provision included by virtue of sub-paragraph (5) above, and

(b) adding the percentage found by expressing the difference in pay as a percentage of the profits in the preceding period of 12 months.

(7) For the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) the pay for the profit period or for the preceding period of 12 months is the pay paid to employees in respect of employment in the period concerned in the employment unit concerned;

(b) the difference in pay is the difference between the pay for the profit period and the pay for the preceding period of 12 months;

and any profit-related pay shall be ignored in applying paragraph (a) above.”

(4) This section shall have effect in relation to any scheme not registered before 1st December 1993.