Finance Act 1989

100 Change in ownership of company. U.K.

(1) Section 769 of the Taxes Act 1988 (which contains rules for determining whether for the purposes of sections 245 and 768 of that Act there is a change in the ownership of a company) shall be amended in accordance with this section.

(2) For subsection (6) there shall be substituted—

“(6) If there is a change in the ownership of a company, including a change occurring by virtue of the application of this subsection but not a change which is to be disregarded under subsection (5) above, then—

(a) in a case falling within subsection (1)(a) above, the person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) shall be taken for the purposes of this section to acquire at the time of the change any relevant assets owned by the company;

(b) in a case falling within subsection (1)(b) above but not within subsection(1)(a) above, each of the persons mentioned in subsection (1)(b) shall be taken for the purposes of this section to acquire at the time of the change the appropriate proportion of any relevant assets owned by the company; and

(c) in any other case, each of the persons mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) above (other than any whose holding is disregarded under that paragraph) shall be taken for the purposes of this section to acquire at the time of the change the appropriate proportion of any relevant assets owned by the company.

(6A) In subsection (6) above—

• “the appropriate proportion”, in relation to one of two or more persons mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (c) above, means a proportion corresponding to the proportion which the percentage of the ordinary share capital acquired by him bears to the percentage of that capital acquired by all those persons taken together; and

• “relevant assets”, in relation to a company, means—

  (a)

  any ordinary share capital of another company, and

  (b)

  any property or rights which under subsection (3) above may be taken into account instead of ordinary share capital of another company.

(6B) Notwithstanding that at any time a company (“the subsidiary company”) is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of another company (“theparent company”) it shall not be treated at that time as such a subsidiary for the purposes of this section unless, additionally, at that time—

(a) the parent company would be beneficially entitled to not less than 75 percent. of any profits available for distribution to equity holders of the subsidiary company; and

(b) the parent company would be beneficially entitled to not less than 75 percent. of any assets of the subsidiary company available for distribution to its equity holders on a winding-up.

(6C) Schedule 18 shall apply for the purposes of subsection (6B) above as it applies for the purposes of section 413(7).”

(3) Subsection (7)(b) and (c) shall cease to have effect.

(4) This section shall have effect where the change of ownership of a company would be treated as occurring on or after 14th March 1989.