Finance Act 1999

43 Meaning of conditional interests in shares

(1) Section 140C of the Taxes Act 1988 (which describes the cases in which an interest in shares is, or is not, to be treated as only conditional) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) A person shall not for the purposes of sections 140A and 140B be taken, in relation to any shares in a company or any security, to have an interest which is only conditional by reason only that one or more of subsections (2) to (4) below applies in relation to him.”

(3) In subsections (2), (3) and (4) for the words from the beginning to “by reason only that” substitute “This subsection applies in relation to a person if”.

(4) In subsection (3)—

(a) after “offer the shares for sale” insert “or transfer them”; and

(b) for the words from “if he ceases” to the end substitute “if he ceases to be an officer or employee of the company or of one or more group companies or of any group company.”

(5) After that subsection insert—

“(3A) This subsection applies in relation to a person if he may be required to offer the shares for sale or transfer them, if, as a result of misconduct, he ceases to be an officer or employee of the company or of one or more group companies or of any group company.”

(6) After subsection (5) add—

“(6) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a company is a “group company” in relation to another company if they are members of the same group, and

(b) companies are taken to be members of the same group if, and only if, one is a 51 per cent. subsidiary of the other or both are 51 per cent. subsidiaries of a third company.”

(7) The amendments made by this section shall be deemed always to have had effect.