Finance Act 1991

30 Mobile telephones

(1) In section 154(2) of the Taxes Act 1988, in paragraph (b) (which excludes from the general charge on benefits in kind any benefits chargeable under the provisions there specified) after the words “section 157, 158,” there shall be inserted “159A,”.

(2) After section 159 of that Act there shall be inserted—

“159A Mobile telephones

(1) Where in any year in the case of a person employed in employment to which this Chapter applies a mobile telephone is made available (without any transfer of the property in it) either to that person or to others who are members of his family or household, and—

(a) it is so made available by reason of his employment and it is in that year available for his or their private use, and

(b) the benefit of the mobile telephone is not (apart from this section) chargeable to tax as the employee’s income,

there is to be treated as emoluments of the employment, and accordingly chargeable to income tax under Schedule E, an amount equal to whatever is the cash equivalent of that benefit in that year.

(2) The cash equivalent of a benefit taxable under this section in any year shall be £200 for each mobile telephone made available in that year, but subject to the following provisions of this section.

(3) If for any year—

(a) there is no private use of the mobile telephone, or

(b) the employee is required to, and does, make good to the person providing the benefit the full cost of any private use of the mobile telephone,

then the cash equivalent of the benefit for that year is nil.

(4) If the mobile telephone is unavailable for any part of a year, the cash equivalent of the benefit for that year shall be reduced by an amount which bears to that specified in subsection (2) above for that year the proportion which the number of days in the year on which the mobile telephone is unavailable bears to 365.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) above, a mobile telephone is to be regarded as “unavailable” on any day if, and only if—

(a) it is not made available as mentioned in subsection (1) above until after that day, or

(b) it ceases to be so available before that day, or

(c) it is incapable of being used at all throughout a period of not less than 30 consecutive days of which that day is one.

(6) Where different mobile telephones are made available on different days in a year, the employee shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if the same mobile telephone (or, in a case where two or more mobile telephones are made available concurrently, the same mobile telephones) had been made available on each of those days.

(7) The Treasury may by order taking effect from the beginning of any year commencing after the making of the order increase or further increase the amount specified in subsection (2) above.

(8) For the purposes of this section—

(a) “mobile telephone” means wireless telegraphy apparatus designed or adapted for the purpose of transmitting and receiving spoken messages so as to provide a telephone which is connected to a public telecommunication system (within the meaning of the [1984 c. 12.] Telecommunications Act 1984) but which is not physically connected to a land-line and—

(i) includes any such apparatus provided in connection with a car, notwithstanding that the car is made available as mentioned in section 157, but

(ii) does not include a cordless telephone or a telepoint telephone, whether or not provided in connection with a car;

(b) “cordless telephone” means wireless telegraphy apparatus—

(i) designed or adapted for the purpose of transmitting and receiving spoken messages so as to provide a wireless extension to a telephone, and

(ii) used only as such an extension to a telephone that is physically connected to a land-line;

(c) “telepoint telephone” means wireless telegraphy apparatus used for the purpose of a short-range radio communications service utilising frequencies between 864 and 868 megahertz (inclusive);

(d) “private use”, in relation to a mobile telephone, means any use of the telephone to make calls, other than calls made wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment;

(e) “full cost”, in relation to any private use of a mobile telephone, means the aggregate of—

(i) the cost of any telephone calls which constitute private use of the mobile telephone; and

(ii) any other cost of the benefit provided, determined in accordance with the provisions of section 156(2) and (5) to (7) as they would apply if the benefit were chargeable to tax under section 154;

(f) an employee who accepts a call on the footing that the cost of the call will be charged to the person providing the benefit shall be treated as if the employee had made the call.”

(3) The amendments made by this section shall have effect for the year 1991-92 and subsequent years of assessment.