Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992

31 Distributions within a group followed by a disposal of shares. U.K.

(1) The references in section 30 to a reduction in the value of an asset, in the case mentioned in subsection (8) of that section, do not include a reduction attributable to the payment of a dividend by the second company at a time when it and the first company are associated, except to the extent (if any) that the dividend is attributable to chargeable profits of the second company and, in such a case, the tax-free benefit shall be ascertained without regard to any part of the dividend that is not attributable to such profits.

(2) Subsections (3) to (11) below apply for the interpretation of subsection (1) above.

(3) Chargeable profits shall be ascertained as follows—

(a) the distributable profits of any company are chargeable profits of that company to the extent that they are profits arising on a transaction caught by this section, and

(b) where any company makes a distribution attributable wholly or partly to chargeable profits (including any profits that are chargeable profits by virtue of this paragraph) to another company, the distributable profits of the other company, so far as they represent that distribution or so much of it as was attributable to chargeable profits, are chargeable profits of the other company,

and for this purpose any loss or other amount to be set against the profits of a company in determining the distributable profits shall be set first against profits other than the profits so arising or, as the case may be, representing so much of the distribution as was attributable to chargeable profits.

(4) The distributable profits of a company are such profits computed on a commercial basis as, after allowing for any provision properly made for tax, the company is empowered, assuming sufficient funds, to distribute to persons entitled to participate in the profits of the company.

(5) Profits of a company (“company A”) are profits arising on a transaction caught by this section where each of the following 3 conditions is satisfied.

(6) The first condition is that the transaction is—

(a) a disposal of an asset by company A to another company in circumstances such that company A and the other company are treated as mentioned in section 171(1), or

(b) an exchange, or a transaction treated for the purposes of section 135(2) and (3) as an exchange, of shares in or debentures of a company held by company A for shares in or debentures of another company, being a company associated with company A immediately after the transaction, and is treated by virtue of section 135(3) as a reorganisation of share capital, or

(c) a revaluation of an asset in the accounting records of company A.

In the following conditions the “asset with enhanced value” means (subject to section 33), in the paragraph (a) case, the asset acquired by the person to whom the disposal is made, in the paragraph (b) case, the shares in or debentures of the other company and, in the paragraph (c) case, the revalued asset.

(7) The second condition is that—

(a) during the period beginning with the transaction referred to in subsection (6) above and ending immediately before the section 30 disposal, there is no disposal of the asset with enhanced value to any person, other than a disposal falling within section 171(1), and

(b) no disposal of the asset with enhanced value is treated as having occurred during that period by virtue of section 178 or 179.

(8) The third condition is that, immediately after the section 30 disposal, the asset with enhanced value is owned by a person other than the company making that disposal or a company associated with it.

(9) The conditions in subsections (6) to (8) above are not satisfied if—

(a) at the time of the transaction referred to in subsection (6) above, company A carries on a trade and a profit on a disposal of the asset with enhanced value would form part of the trading profits, or

(b) by reason of the nature of the asset with enhanced value, a disposal of it could give rise neither to a chargeable gain nor to an allowable loss, or

(c) immediately before the section 30 disposal, the company owning the asset with enhanced value carries on a trade and a profit on a disposal of the asset would form part of the trading profits.

(10) The amount of chargeable profits of a company to be attributed to any distribution made by the company at any time in respect of any class of shares, securities or rights shall be ascertained by—

(a) determining the total of distributable profits, and the total of chargeable profits, that remains after allowing for earlier distributions made in respect of that or any other class of shares, securities or rights, and for distributions made at or to be made after that time in respect of other classes of shares, securities or rights, and

(b) attributing first to that distribution distributable profits other than chargeable profits.

(11) The amount of chargeable profits of a company to be attributed to any part of a distribution made at any time to which a person is entitled by virtue of any part of his holding of any class of shares, securities or rights, shall be such proportion of the chargeable profits as are attributable under subsection (10) above to the distributions made at that time in respect of that class as corresponds to that part of his holding.