Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

10 After section 68 insert—

“68A Share incentive plans: application of section 68B

(1) Section 68B applies for income tax purposes in connection with shares awarded under an approved share incentive plan.

(2) But that section does not apply to an individual if, at the time of the award of shares in question—

(a) the earnings from the eligible employment are not (or would not be if there were any) general earnings to which any of the charging provisions of Chapter 4 or 5 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003 apply, or

(b) in the case of an award made before 6th April 2003, he was not chargeable to tax under Schedule E in respect of the employment by reference to which he met the requirement of paragraph 14 of Schedule 8 to the Finance Act 2000 (employee share ownership plans: the employment requirement) in relation to the plan.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a)—

(a) “the eligible employment” means the employment which results in the individual meeting the employment requirement in relation to the plan, and

(b) the reference to any of the charging provisions of Chapter 4 or 5 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003 has the same meaning as it has in the employment income Parts of that Act (see sections 14(3) and 20(3) of that Act).

68B Share incentive plans: cash dividends and dividend shares

(1) Where a cash dividend is paid over to a participant under paragraph 68(4) of Schedule 2 to ITEPA 2003 (cash dividend paid over if not reinvested), the participant is chargeable to tax on the amount paid over, to the extent that it represents a foreign cash dividend, under Case V of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which the dividend is paid over to the participant.

(2) If dividend shares cease to be subject to the plan before the end of the period of three years beginning with the date on which the shares were acquired on the participant’s behalf, the participant is chargeable to tax on the amount of the relevant dividend, to the extent that it represents a foreign cash dividend, under Case V of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which the shares cease to be subject to the plan.

For this purpose “the relevant dividend” is the cash dividend applied to acquire those shares on the participant’s behalf.

(3) Where the participant is charged to tax under subsection (2) the tax due shall be reduced by the amount or aggregate amount of any tax paid on any capital receipts under section 501 of ITEPA 2003 in respect of those shares.

(4) Subsection (2) has effect subject to section 498 of that Act (no charge on shares ceasing to be subject to plan in certain circumstances).

68C Share incentive plans: interpretation

(1) Sections 68A and 68B and this section form part of the SIP code (see section 488 of ITEPA 2003 (approved share incentive plans)).

(2) Accordingly, expressions used in those sections and contained in the index at the end of Schedule 2 to that Act (approved share incentive plans) have the meaning indicated by that index.

(3) In section 68B, “foreign cash dividend” means a cash dividend paid in respect of plan shares in a company not resident in the United Kingdom.”