Finance Act 1998

53 Provision supplemental to sections 50 to 52

After the section 140G of the Taxes Act 1988 inserted by section 52 above there shall be inserted the following section—

“140H Construction of sections 140A to 140G

(1) For the purposes of sections 140A to 140G and this section, a person acquires any shares or securities as a director or employee of a company if—

(a) he acquires them in pursuance of a right conferred on him, or an opportunity offered to him, by reason of his office or employment as a director or employee of the company; or

(b) the shares or securities are, or a right or opportunity in pursuance of which he acquires them is, assigned to him after being acquired by, conferred on or, as the case may be, offered to some other person by reason of the assignee’s office or employment as a director or employee of the company.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, the references in subsection (1) above to a right or opportunity conferred or offered by reason of a person’s office or employment shall be taken to include—

(a) a reference to one so conferred or offered after he has ceased to hold it; and

(b) a reference to one that arises from the fact that any shares which a person acquires as a director or employee (or is treated as so acquiring by virtue of this paragraph) are convertible for the purposes of section 140D.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the references in subsections (1) and (2) above to a person’s office or employment are references only to an office or employment in respect of which he is chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule E; but

(b) subsection (2)(a) above shall not apply where a right or opportunity conferred or offered in the last chargeable period in which the office or employment was held by the person in question would not have fallen to be taken into account for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (2)(b) above where—

(a) a person has acquired an interest in any shares or securities which is only conditional or has acquired any convertible shares,

(b) he acquired that interest or those shares as a director or employee of a company, or is treated by virtue of this subsection as having done so, and

(c) as a result of any two or more transactions—

(i) he ceases to be entitled to that interest or those shares, and

(ii) he or a connected person becomes entitled to any interest in any shares or securities which is only conditional or to any convertible shares,

he shall be treated for the purposes of sections 140A to 140G as if the interest or shares to which he becomes entitled were also acquired by him as a director or employee of the company in question.

(5) Sections 140C and 140D(2) have effect for the purposes of subsection (4) above as they have effect for the purposes of sections 140A and 140B and section 140D respectively.

(6) References in sections 140A to 140G or this section to the terms on which a person is entitled to an interest in shares or securities include references to any terms imposed by any contract or arrangement or in any other way.

(7) References in this section to shares or to securities include references to an interest in shares or, as the case may be, securities.

(8) Subsection (5) of section 136 applies for the purposes of sections 140A to 140G and this section as it applies for the purposes of that section but as if—

(a) references to a body corporate were references to a company;

(b) at the end of paragraph (d) there were inserted “or any other interest of a member of a company”; and

(c) the words after paragraph (d) were omitted.

(9) Section 839 applies for the purposes of this section.”