Finance Act 2021

133 Tax consequences of reform etc of LIBOR and other reference rates U.K.

(1) The Treasury may by regulations make provision about the tax consequences of things done in anticipation of or in connection with—

(a) the reform or discontinuance of LIBOR, or

(b) the reform or discontinuance of another reference rate.

(2) Regulations under this section may, for example, make provision—

(a) changing the tax treatment of transactions (including by disregarding a transaction or treating a transaction as taking place at a different time or to a different extent);

(b) changing the tax treatment of amounts (including by disregarding an amount or treating an amount as larger or smaller than it actually is).

(3) Regulations under this section may include retrospective provision.

(4) Where regulations under this section do so—

(a) they must include provision conferring power on a person to make an election for no provision of the regulations to have retrospective effect in the person's case;

(b) they may include provision conferring power on a person to make such other election limiting the retrospective effect of the regulations in the person's case as is specified in the regulations.

(5) Regulations that include provision for an election mentioned in subsection (4)—

(a) must include provision about how the election is to be made, and

(b) may include provision for a time limit within which the election is to be made.

(6) Regulations under this section may—

(a) apply an enactment (with or without modifications) or disapply an enactment, or

(b) amend, repeal or revoke an enactment.

(7) Regulations under this section may—

(a) make different provision for different cases or purposes, and

(b) include incidental, consequential, supplementary or transitional provision.

(8) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.

(9) No regulations may be made under this section unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing them has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

(10) In this section—

• “enactment” includes an enactment contained in subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978);

• “reference rate” means a published rate used to set interest rates for financial instruments;

• “tax” includes stamp duty.

(11) The power conferred by this section is not exercisable after 31 December 2023, except for the purpose of revoking regulations made under it on or before that date.