Authorised Unit Trusts
1496.It is possible for the FSA to recognise a non UK unit trust scheme for marketing into the UK. However, only those UK tax resident unit trusts that are “authorised” by the FSA come within section 468 of ICTA. Section 468(1) of ICTA provides that the Tax Acts apply to UK authorised unit trusts and shall have effect as if the trustees of the authorised unit trust were a company resident in the United Kingdom. Although the application of section 468(1) of ICTA is by reference to the trustees' income (and relief for capital expenditure), the treatment of the trustees as a UK resident company carries through for the purposes of taxing interest distributions treated as made to unit holders. That is because section 468L(2) of ICTA provides that the Tax Acts shall have effect as if such interest distributions were made “by the company referred to in section 468(1)”. As these distributions are treated as made by such a company, that is a UK resident company, they can only be UK source income.
