Trusts & Shares Abroad
TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT
Chapter 4
Shares and securities (ss. 580-592)
580.
Shares, securities, etc: identification.
(1)For the purposes of identifying shares acquired with shares subsequently disposed of, in so far as the shares are of the same class, shares acquired at an earlier time shall for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts be deemed to have been disposed of before shares acquired at a later time.
(2)Shares shall not be treated for the purposes of this section as being of the same class unless, if dealt with on a stock exchange, they would be so treated, but shall be treated in accordance with this section notwithstanding that they are identified in a different way by a disposal or by the transfer or delivery giving effect to the disposal.
(3)This section shall apply to securities as it applies to shares.
(4)This section apart from subsection (2) shall apply in relation to any assets as it applies in relation to shares where the assets are of a nature to be dealt in without identifying the particular assets disposed of or acquired.
(5)
(a)This subsection shall apply in relation to the disposal of any assets to which paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975, applied, where –
(i)any such assets were on the 6th day of April, 1978, comprised in a holding of the kind referred to in that paragraph,
(ii)the holding consisted of assets acquired on different dates, and
(iii)before the 6th day of April, 1978, there had been a disposal of assets which if that disposal had not taken place would have been comprised in the holding on that date.
(b)For the purposes of applying subsection (1) in relation to each disposal to which this subsection applies –
(i)shares acquired on different dates shall be treated as if they were distinguishable parts of a single asset (in this subsection referred to as “the holding”) acquired respectively on the separate dates on which they were acquired and for the consideration for which they were acquired, and
(ii)it shall be assumed that, on each occasion before the 6th day of April, 1978, on which a disposal was made of shares in the holding, each of the distinguishable parts of the holding as it existed immediately before the disposal was reduced, both as regards the number of shares comprised in that part and the expenditure attributable to that part under paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 552(1), in the same proportion as the number of shares so disposed of bears to the number of shares comprised in the holding immediately before that disposal, and
(iii)the number of shares comprised in each such part on the 6th day of April, 1978, and the expenditure attributable (apart from section 556) to that part under paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 552(1) shall, in relation to a disposal made on or after that date, be the number and expenditure respectively determined in accordance with this subsection.
(c)Nothing in this subsection shall affect the computation of any chargeable gain or allowable loss in relation to any disposal of assets made before the 6th day of April, 1978.
(6)This section shall apply subject to section 581.
581.
Disposals of shares or securities within 4 weeks of acquisition.
(1)For the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, where the same person in the same capacity disposes of shares of the same class as shares which such person acquired within 4 weeks preceding the disposal, the shares disposed of shall be identified with the shares so acquired within those 4 weeks.
(2)For the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, where the quantity of shares of the same class disposed of exceeds the quantity of shares of the same class acquired within the period of 4 weeks preceding the disposal, the excess shall be identified with shares of the same class acquired otherwise than within the period of 4 weeks.
(3)Where a loss accrues to a person on the disposal of shares and such person reacquires shares of the same class within 4 weeks after the disposal, that loss shall not be allowable under section 538 or 546 otherwise than by deduction from a chargeable gain accruing to such person on the disposal of the shares reacquired; but, if the quantity of shares so reacquired is less than the quantity so disposed of, such proportion of the loss shall be allowable under section 538 or 546 as bears the same proportion to the loss on the disposal as the quantity not reacquired bears to the quantity disposed of.
(4)In the case of a man and his wife living with him, or civil partners living together –
(a)subsections (1) and (2) shall, with the necessary modifications, apply where shares are acquired by one of them and shares of the same class are disposed of within 4 weeks by the other, and
(b)subsection (3) shall, with the necessary modifications, apply also where a loss on the disposal accrues to one of them and the acquisition after the disposal is made by the other.
(5)This section shall apply to securities as it applies to shares.
582.
Calls on shares.
Where, as respects an issue of shares in or debentures of a company, a person gives any consideration on a date which is more than 12 months after the date on which the shares or debentures were allotted, the consideration shall, in the computation of a gain accruing to such person on a disposal of the shares or debentures, be deemed for the purposes of section 556 to be expenditure incurred on the date on which the consideration was given.
583.
Capital distributions by companies.
(1)In this section, “capital distribution” means any distribution from a company (including a distribution in the course of dissolving or winding up the company) in money or money’s worth except a distribution which in the hands of the recipient constitutes income for the purposes of income tax.
(2)Where a person receives or becomes entitled to receive in respect of shares in a company any capital distribution from the company (other than a new holding within the meaning of section 584), such person shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if such person had in consideration of that capital distribution disposed of an interest in the shares.
584.
Reorganisation or reduction of share capital.
(1)In this section –
“new holding”, in relation to any original shares, means the shares in and debentures of the company which as a result of the reorganisation or reduction of capital represent the original shares (including such, if any, of the original shares as remain);
“original shares” means shares held before and concerned in the reorganisation or reduction of capital;
references to a reorganisation of a company’s share capital include –
(a)any case where persons are, whether for payment or not, allotted shares in or debentures of the company in respect of and in proportion to (or as nearly as may be in proportion to) their holdings of shares in the company or of any class of shares in the company, and
(b)any case where there is more than one class of shares and the rights attached to shares of any class are altered;
references to a reduction of share capital do not include the paying off of redeemable share capital and, where shares in a company are redeemable by the company otherwise than by the issue of shares or debentures (with or without other consideration) and otherwise than in a liquidation, the shareholder shall be treated as disposing of the shares at the time of the redemption.
(2)This section shall apply for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts in relation to any reorganisation or reduction of a company’s share capital.
(3)Subject to subsections (4) to (10), a reorganisation or reduction of a company’s share capital shall not be treated as involving any disposal of the original shares or any acquisition of the new holding or any part of it; but the original shares (taken as a single asset) and the new holding (taken as a single asset) shall be treated as the same asset acquired as the original shares were acquired.
(4)
(a)Where on a reorganisation or reduction of a company’s share capital a person gives or becomes liable to give any consideration for such person’s new holding or any part of it, that consideration shall, in the computation of a gain accruing to such person on a disposal of the new holding or any part of it, be deemed for the purposes of section 556 to be expenditure incurred on the date the consideration was given and, if the new holding or part of it is disposed of with a liability attaching to it in respect of that consideration, the consideration given for the disposal shall be adjusted accordingly.
(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), there shall not be treated as consideration given for the acquisition of the new holding –
(i)any surrender, cancellation or other alteration of the original shares or of the rights attached to the original shares, or
(ii)any consideration consisting of any application, in paying up the shares or debentures or any part of them, of any assets of the company, or of any dividend or other distribution declared out of those assets but not made;
but, if section 816 applies in relation to the issue of any of the shares, the sum in cash which the person would have received if the person had not exercised the option to receive additional share capital instead of a sum in cash shall be treated for the purposes of this subsection as consideration given for those shares.
(5)Where on a reorganisation or reduction of a company’s share capital a person receives (or is deemed to receive), or becomes entitled to receive, any consideration other than the new holding for the disposal of an interest in the original shares, and in particular –
(a)where under section 583 such person is to be treated as if such person had in consideration of a capital distribution disposed of an interest in the original shares, or
(b)where such person receives (or is deemed to receive) a consideration from other shareholders in respect of a surrender of rights derived from the original shares,
such person shall be treated as if the new holding resulted from such person having for that consideration disposed of an interest in the original shares (but without prejudice to the original shares and the new holding being treated in accordance with subsection (3) as the same asset).
(6)Where, for the purpose of computing the gain or loss accruing to a person from the acquisition and disposal of any part of the new holding, it is necessary to apportion the cost of acquisition of any of the original shares between the part which is disposed of and the part which is retained, the apportionment shall be made by reference to market value at the date of the disposal (with such adjustment of the market value of any part of the new holding as may be required to offset any liability attaching to the new holding but forming part of the cost to be apportioned), and any corresponding apportionment for the purposes of subsection (5) shall be made in the like manner.
(7)Notwithstanding subsection (6) –
(a)where a new holding –
(i)consists of more than one class of shares in or debentures of the company and one or more of those classes is of shares or debentures which, at any time not later than the end of the period of 3 months beginning on the date on which the reorganisation or reduction of capital took effect, or of such longer period as the Revenue Commissioners may by notice in writing allow, had quoted market values on a recognised stock exchange in the State or elsewhere, or
(ii)consists of more than one class of rights of unit holders and one or more of those classes is of rights the prices of which were published regularly by the managers of the scheme at any time not later than the end of that period of 3 months (or longer if so allowed), and
(b)where, for the purpose of computing the gain or loss accruing to a person from the acquisition and disposal of the whole or any part of any class of shares or securities or rights of unit holders forming part of a new holding of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), it is necessary to apportion costs of acquisition between the part that is disposed of and the part that is retained,
then, the cost of acquisition of the new holding shall first be apportioned between the entire classes of shares or debentures or rights of which it consists by reference to market value on the first day (whether that day fell before the reorganisation or reduction of capital took effect or later) on which market values or prices were quoted or published for the shares, debentures or rights mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) (with such adjustment of the market value of any class as may be required to offset any liability attaching thereto but forming part of the cost to be apportioned) and, for the purposes of this subsection, the day on which a reorganisation of share capital involving the allotment of shares or debentures or unit holders’ rights takes effect shall be the day following the day on which the right to renounce any allotment expires.
(8)Where a person receives or becomes entitled to receive in respect of any shares in or debentures of a company a provisional allotment of shares in or debentures of the company and such person disposes of such person’s rights, section 583 shall apply as if the amount of the consideration for the disposal were a capital distribution received by such person from the company in respect of the first-mentioned shares, and as if such person had, instead of disposing of the rights, disposed of an interest in those shares.
(9)Subsection (3) shall not apply to the extent that the new holding comprises debentures, loan stock or other similar securities issued or allotted on or after 4 December 2002, unless
(a)they were so issued or allotted pursuant to a binding written agreement made before that date, or
(b)this section has application by virtue of section 586.
(10)
(a)In this subsection, ‘investment undertaking’ and ‘unit’ have the same meanings respectively as in section 739B.
(b)Subsection (3) shall not apply where the new holding comprises units in an investment undertaking, being a company.
585.
Conversion of securities.
(1)In this section –
“conversion of securities” includes –
(a)a conversion of securities of a company into shares in the company,
(b)a conversion at the option of the holder of the securities converted as an alternative to the redemption of those securities for cash where the conversion takes place before 4 December 2002, or where the conversion takes place after that date pursuant to a binding written agreement made before that date, and
(c)any exchange of securities effected in pursuance of any enactment which provides for the compulsory acquisition of any shares or securities and the issue of securities or other securities instead;
“security” includes any loan stock or similar security, whether of any government or of any public or local authority or of any company and whether secured or unsecured but excluding securities within section 607.
“investment undertaking” and ”unit” have the same meanings respectively as in section 739B;
(1A)For the purposes of this section, a conversion of securities shall not include a conversion of securities into units in an investment undertaking, being a company.
(2)Section 584 shall apply with any necessary modifications in relation to the conversion of securities as it applies in relation to the reorganisation or reduction of a company’s share capital.
586.
Company amalgamations by exchange of shares.
(1)Subject to section 587, where a company issues shares or debentures to a person in exchange for shares in or debentures of another company, section 584 shall apply with any necessary modifications as if the 2 companies were the same company and the exchange were a reorganisation of its share capital.
(2)This section shall apply only where –
(a)the company issuing the shares or debentures has, or in consequence of the exchange will have, control of the other company, or
(b)the first-mentioned company issues the shares or debentures in exchange for shares as the result of a general offer made to members of the other company or any class of them (with or without exceptions for persons connected with the first-mentioned company), the offer being made in the first instance on a condition such that if it were satisfied the first-mentioned company would have control of the other company.
(3)
(a)In this subsection, “shares” includes stock, debentures and any interests to which section 587(3) applies and also includes any option in relation to such shares.
(b)This section shall not apply to the issue by a company of shares in the company by means of an exchange referred to in subsection (1) unless it is shown that the exchange is effected for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of any arrangement or scheme of which the main purpose or one of the main purposes is avoidance of liability to tax.
(c)This section shall not apply where, on or after 4 December 2002, a company issues debentures, loan stock or other similar securities to a person in exchange for shares of another company unless –
(i)such issue is pursuant to a binding written agreement made before that date, or
(ii)the company issuing the debentures, loan stock or other similar securities and the person to whom they are issued are members of the same group (within the meaning of section 616) throughout the period commencing one year before and ending one year after the day the debentures, loan stock or other similar securities are issued, or
(iii)the other company is a company quoted on a recognised stock exchange and its board of directors had, before 4 December 2002, made a public announcement that they had agreed the terms of a recommended offer to be made for the company’s entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital.
(d)This section shall not apply where the company issuing the shares or debentures is an investment undertaking within the meaning of section 739B.
587.
Company reconstructions and amalgamations.
(1)In this section, “scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation” means a scheme for the reconstruction of any company or companies or the amalgamation of any 2 or more companies, and references to shares or debentures being retained include their being retained with altered rights or in an altered form, whether as the result of reduction, consolidation, division or otherwise.
(2)Where under any arrangement between a company and the persons holding shares in or debentures of the company or any class of such shares or debentures, being an arrangement entered into for the purposes of or in connection with a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation, another company issues shares or debentures to those persons in respect of and in proportion to (or as nearly as may be in proportion to) their holdings of the first-mentioned shares or debentures, but the first-mentioned shares or debentures are either retained by those persons or cancelled, then, those persons shall be treated as exchanging the first-mentioned shares or debentures for those held by them in consequence of the arrangement (any shares or debentures retained being for this purpose regarded as if they had been cancelled and replaced by a new issue), and accordingly section 586(1) shall apply to such exchange of shares or debentures.
(2A)
(a)In this subsection, ‘merger’ and ‘division’ have the same meaning as in section 638A (inserted by the Finance Act 2017).
(b)References in subsection (2) to shares being cancelled shall be deemed to include references to shares which are extinguished as a result of a merger or division.
(3)Subsection (2) shall apply in relation to a company which has no share capital as if references to shares in or debentures of a company included references to any interests in the company possessed by members of the company, and sections 584 and 586 shall apply accordingly.
(4)
(a)In this subsection, “shares” has the same meaning as in section 586(3).
(b)This section shall not apply to the issue by a company of shares in the company under a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation referred to in subsection (2) unless it is shown that the reconstruction or amalgamation is effected for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of any arrangement or scheme of which the main purpose or one of the main purposes is avoidance of liability to tax.
(c)This section shall not apply to any person to whom, under a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation, a company issues debentures, loan stock or other similar securities on or after 4 December 2002, unless –
(i)they were issued pursuant to a binding written agreement made before that date, or
(ii)that person and the company are members of the same group (within the meaning of section 616) throughout the period commencing one year before and ending one year after the day the debentures, loan stock or other similar securities were issued, or
(iii)they were issued pursuant to a scheme or arrangement, the principal terms of which had been brought to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners and the Revenue Commissioners had acknowledged in writing before 4 December 2002, to the effect that the scheme or arrangement was a scheme of reconstruction and amalgamation.
(d)This section shall not apply where the company issuing the shares or debentures is an investment undertaking within the meaning of section 739B.
588.
Demutualisation of assurance companies.
(1)In this section –
“assurance company” means-
(a)an assurance company within the meaning of section 3 of the Insurance Act 1936, or
(b)a person that holds an authorisation –
(i)within the meaning of the European Communities (Life Assurance) Framework Regulations 1994 (S.I. No. 360 of 1994), or
(ii)under the European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 485 of 2015), in respect of insurance of a class listed in Schedule 2 to those Regulations;
“free shares”, in relation to a member of the assurance company, means any shares issued by the successor company to that member in connection with the arrangement but for no new consideration;
“member”, in relation to the assurance company, means a person who is or has been a member of it, in that capacity, and any reference to a member includes a reference to a member of any particular class or description;
“new consideration” means consideration other than –
(a)consideration provided directly or indirectly out of the assets of the assurance company or the successor company, or
(b)consideration derived from a member’s shares or other rights in the assurance company or the successor company.
(2)This section shall apply as on and from the 21st day of April, 1997, in respect of an arrangement between a company and its members, being an arrangement to which subsection (2) of section 587 applies by virtue of subsection (3) of that section, and where the company is an assurance company which carries on a mutual life business.
(3)Where in connection with the arrangement there is conferred on a member of the assurance company concerned any rights –
(a)to acquire shares in another company (in this section referred to as the “successor company”) in priority to other persons,
(b)to acquire shares in the successor company for consideration of an amount or value lower than the market value of the shares, or
(c)to free shares in the successor company,
then, any such rights so conferred on a member shall be regarded for the purposes of capital gains tax as an option (within the meaning of section 540) granted to and acquired by such member for no consideration and having no value at the time of that grant and acquisition.
(4)Where in connection with the arrangement shares in the successor company are issued to a member of the assurance company concerned, and such shares are treated under section 587 as having been exchanged by the member for the interest in the company possessed by the member, those shares shall, notwithstanding section 584, be regarded for the purposes of section 552(1) –
(a)as having been issued to the member for a consideration given by the member of an amount or value equal to the amount or value of any new consideration given by the member for the shares or, if no new consideration is given, as having been issued for no consideration, and
(b)as having, at the time of their issue to the member, a value equal to the amount or value of the new consideration so given or, if no new consideration is given, as having no value;
but this subsection is without prejudice to the operation where applicable of subsection (3).
(5)Subsection (6) shall apply in any case where –
(a)in connection with the arrangement, shares in the successor company are issued by that company to trustees on terms which provide for the transfer of those shares to members of the assurance company concerned for no new consideration, and
(b)the circumstances are such that in the hands of the trustees the shares constitute settled property.
(6)
(a)Where this subsection applies, then, for the purposes of capital gains tax –
(i)the shares shall be regarded as acquired by the trustees for no consideration,
(ii)the interest of any member in the settled property constituted by the shares shall be regarded as acquired by the member for no consideration and as having no value at the time of its acquisition, and
(iii)where on the occasion of a member becoming absolutely entitled as against the trustees to any of the settled property, both the trustees and the member shall be treated as if, on the member becoming so entitled, the shares in question had been disposed of and immediately reacquired by the trustees, in their capacity as trustees within section 567(2), for a consideration of such an amount as would secure that on the disposal neither a gain nor a loss would accrue to the trustees, and accordingly section 576(1) shall not apply in relation to that occasion.
(b)Reference in paragraph (a) to the case where a member becomes absolutely entitled to settled property as against the trustees shall be taken to include reference to the case where the member would become so entitled but for being a minor or otherwise under a legal disability.
(7)Where in connection with the arrangements there is conferred on a member of an assurance company a right to acquire shares in a successor company, or a right to a distribution of assets (including cash) of the assurance company, the assurance company shall, within 30 days of the arrangements being effected or within such longer period as the Revenue Commissioners may on request allow, make a return to the Revenue Commissioners in such electronic format as they require, which, in respect of each such member, specifies –
(a)the name of the member,
(b)the address of the member,
(c)the number of shares in the successor company which the member has a right to acquire,
(d)the amount of new consideration which the member is required to give to acquire those shares,
(e)the value of any assets of the assurance company to which the member has a right, and
(f)such other information that the Revenue Commissioners advise the assurance company that they require.
589.
Shares in close company transferring assets at undervalue.
(1)Where a close company transfers an asset to any person otherwise than by means of a bargain made at arm’s length and for a consideration of an amount or value less than the market value of the asset, an amount equal to the difference shall be apportioned among the issued shares of the company, and the holders of those shares shall be treated in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).
(2)For the purposes of the computation of a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of any of those shares by the person owning them on the date of transfer, an amount equal to the amount so apportioned to that share shall be excluded from the expenditure allowable as a deduction under section 552(1)(a) from the consideration for the disposal.
(3)Where the person owning any of those shares at the date of transfer is itself a close company, an amount equal to the amount apportioned to the shares so owned under subsection (1) to that close company shall be apportioned among the issued shares of that close company, and the holders of those shares shall be treated in accordance with subsection (2), and so on through any number of close companies.
(4)This section shall apply to a company within section 590 as it applies to a close company.
590. Attribution to participators of chargeable gains accruing to non-resident company.
(1)In this section –
(a)’participator’, in relation to a company, has the meaning assigned to it by section 433(1);
(b)references to a person’s interest as a participator in a company are references to the interest in the company which is represented by all the factors by reference to which the person falls to be treated as such a participator; and
(c)references to the extent of such an interest are references to the proportion of the interests as participators of all the participators in the company (including any who are not resident or ordinarily resident in the State) which on a just and reasonable apportionment is represented by that interest.
(2)For the purposes of this section, where –
(a)the interest of any person in a company is wholly or partly represented by an interest (in this subsection referred to as the ‘person’s beneficial interest’) which the person has under any settlement, and
(b)the person’s beneficial interest is the factor, or one of the factors, by reference to which the person would be treated, apart from this subsection, as having an interest as a participator in the company,
the interest as a participator in the company which would be that person’s shall be deemed, to the extent that it is represented by the person’s beneficial interest, to be an interest of the trustees of the settlement, and not an interest of the person’s, and references in this section, in relation to a company, to a participator shall be construed accordingly.
(3)This section shall apply as respects chargeable gains accruing to a company –
(a)which is not resident in the State, and
(b)which would be a close company if it were resident in the State.
(4)Subject to this section, every person who at the time when the chargeable gain accrues to the company is resident or ordinarily resident in the State, who, if an individual, is domiciled in the State, and who is a participator in the company, shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if a part of the chargeable gain had accrued to that person.
(5)The part of the chargeable gain referred to in subsection (4) shall be equal to the proportion of that gain that corresponds to the extent of the participator’s interest as a participator in the company.
(6)Subsection (4) shall not apply in the case of any participator in the company to which the gain accrues where the aggregate amount falling under that subsection to be apportioned to the participator and to persons connected with the participator does not exceed one-twentieth of the gain.
(7)This section shall not apply in relation to –
(a)a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of assets, being –
(i)tangible property, whether movable or immovable, or a lease of such property, or
(ii)specified intangible assets within the meaning of section 291A(1),
where the assets were used, and used only, for the purposes of a trade carried on by a company, or by another company which is a member of the same group (within the meaning of subsection (16)) as the first-mentioned company, wholly outside the State,
(aa)a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of an asset where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time of the disposal, genuine economic activities are carried on by the company in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)),
(b)a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of currency or of a debt within section 541(6), where the currency or debt is or represents money in use for the purposes of a trade carried on by the company wholly outside the State, or
(c)a chargeable gain in respect of which the company is chargeable to capital gains tax by virtue of section 29 or to corporation tax by virtue of section 25(2)(b).
(8)Where –
(a)any amount of capital gains tax is paid by a person in pursuance of subsection (4), and
(b)an amount in respect of the chargeable gain is distributed, whether by way of dividend or distribution of capital or on the dissolution of the company, within 2 years from the time when the chargeable gain accrued to the company,
that amount of tax, so far as neither reimbursed by the company nor applied as a deduction under subsection (9), shall be applied for reducing or extinguishing any liability of the person to income tax in respect of the distribution or (in the case of a distribution falling to be treated as a disposal on which a chargeable gain accrues to the person) to any capital gains tax in respect of the distribution.
(9)The amount of capital gains tax paid by a person in pursuance of subsection (4), so far as neither reimbursed by the company nor applied under subsection (8) for reducing any liability to tax, shall be allowable as a deduction in the computation under the Capital Gains Tax Acts of a gain accruing on the disposal by the person of any asset representing the person’s interest as a participator in the company.
(10)In ascertaining for the purposes of subsection (8) the amount of income tax chargeable on any person for any year of assessment on or in respect of a distribution, any such distribution mentioned in that subsection which falls to be treated as income of that person for that year of assessment shall be regarded as forming the highest part of the income on which the person is charged to tax for the year of assessment.
(11)To the extent that it would reduce or extinguish chargeable gains accruing by virtue of this section to a person in a year of assessment, this section shall apply in relation to a loss accruing to the company on the disposal of an asset in that year of assessment as it would apply if a gain instead of a loss had accrued to the company on the disposal, but shall only apply in relation to that person; and, subject to the preceding provisions of this subsection, this section shall not apply in relation to a loss accruing to the company.
(12)Where the person who is a participator in the company at the time when the chargeable gain accrued to the company is itself a company which is not resident in the State but which would be a close company if it were resident in the State, an amount equal to the amount apportioned under subsection (5) out of the chargeable gain to the participating company’s interest as a participator in the company to which the gain accrues shall be further apportioned among the participators in the participating company according to the extent of their respective interests as participators, and subsection (4) shall apply to them accordingly in relation to the amounts further apportioned, and so on through any number of companies.
(13)The persons treated by this section as if a part of a chargeable gain accruing to a company had accrued to them shall include trustees who are participators in the company, or in any company amongst the participators in which the gain is apportioned under subsection (12), if when the gain accrued to the company the trustees are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State.
(14)Where any tax payable by any person by virtue of subsection (4) is paid by the company to which the chargeable gain accrues, or in a case under subsection (12) is paid by any such other company, the amount so paid shall not, for the purposes of income tax, capital gains tax or corporation tax, be regarded as a payment to the person by whom the tax was originally payable.
(15)For the purposes of this section, the amount of the gain or loss accruing at any time to a company which is not resident in the State shall be computed (where it is not the case) as if the company were within the charge to corporation tax on capital gains.
(16)
(a)In this subsection –
‘group’ shall be construed in accordance with subsections (1) (excluding paragraph (a)), (3) and (4) of section 616;
‘non-resident group’ of companies –
(i)in the case of a group none of the members of which is resident in the State, means that group, and
(ii)in the case of a group 2 or more members of which are not resident in the State, means the members not resident in the State.
(b)For the purposes of this section –
(i)section 617 (other than paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1)), section 618 (with the omission of the words ‘to which this section applies’ in subsections (1) (a) and (2), of ‘such’ in subsection (1)(c) and of subsection (3)), section 619(2) (with the substitution for ‘in the course of a disposal to which section 617 applies’ of ‘at a time when both were members of the group’) and section 620(2) (with the omission of the words ‘to which this section applies’) shall apply in relation to non-resident companies which are members of a non-resident group of companies as they apply in relation to companies resident in the State which are members of a group of companies, and
(ii)sections 623 (apart from paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) and 625 shall apply as if for any reference in those sections to a group of companies there were substituted a reference to a non-resident group of companies, and as if references to companies were references to companies not resident in the State.
591.
Relief for individuals on certain reinvestment.
(1)In this section –
“director” has the same meaning as in section 116;
“eligible shares” means new ordinary shares which carry no present or future preferential right to dividends or to a company’s assets on its winding up and no present or future preferential right to be redeemed;
“full-time director”, “full-time employee”, “part-time director” and “part-time employee” have the same meanings respectively as in section 250;
“holding company” means a company whose business consists wholly or mainly in the holding of shares in, or securities of, one or more companies which are trading companies and which are its 51 per cent subsidiaries;
“material disposal” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5);
“ordinary shares” means shares forming part of a company’s ordinary share capital;
“ordinary share capital” has the same meaning as in section 2;
“the original holding” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2);
“qualifying company” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (7);
“qualifying investment” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (6);
“the reinvestor” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2);
“the specified period” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (6) (b);
“trade” includes a profession, and “trading company”, “trading group”, “qualifying trade” (within the meaning of subsection (8)) and “qualifying trading operations” (within the meaning of that subsection) shall be construed accordingly;
“trading company” means a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the carrying on of a trade or trades;
“trading group” means a holding company and one or more trading companies which are 51 per cent subsidiaries of the holding company;
“unquoted company” means a company none of whose shares, stocks or debentures are listed in the official list of a stock exchange or quoted on an unlisted securities market of a stock exchange;
“51 per cent subsidiary” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9.
(2)
(a)Subject to this section, where the consideration which an individual (in this section referred to as “the reinvestor”) obtains for any material disposal, before 4 December 2002, by him or her of shares in or securities of any company (in this section referred to as “the original holding”) is applied by him or her within the period of 3 years from the date of that disposal in acquiring a qualifying investment, the reinvestor shall, on making a claim in that behalf, be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if the chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the original holding did not accrue until he or she disposes of the qualifying investment.
(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), where –
(i)the disposal of the qualifying investment is a material disposal for the purposes of this section, and
(ii)the consideration for that disposal is applied by the reinvestor within the period of 3 years from the date of that disposal in acquiring another qualifying investment,
the reinvestor shall be treated as if the chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the original holding did not accrue until he or she disposes of the other qualifying investment and any further qualifying investment which is acquired in a similar manner.
(3)
(a)Where an individual is not entitled to be treated in accordance with subsection (2) solely by reason of not having satisfied the requirements of either or both paragraphs (a) and (e) of subsection (6), and –
(i)all the other requirements of this section have been satisfied,
(ii)the capital gains tax on the disposal of the original holding has been paid in full, and
(iii)the individual has, throughout a period of 2 years beginning within the specified period, been a full-time employee or a full-time director of the qualifying company,
then, the individual –
(I)shall be entitled on making a claim in that behalf to such repayment of capital gains tax as would secure that the tax which is ultimately borne by the individual does not exceed the tax which would have been borne by the individual if he or she had been entitled to be treated in accordance with subsection (2), and
(II)shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if the chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the original holding did not accrue until the individual disposes of the qualifying investment, and subsection (2) (b) shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as it applies for the purposes of subsection (2).
(b)No repayment of tax under this subsection shall carry interest.
(4)Subsection (2) shall not apply if part only of the amount or value of the consideration for the material disposal of the original holding is applied, within the period of 3 years from the date of that disposal, in acquiring a qualifying investment but, if all of the amount of that consideration except for a part which is less than the amount of the gain accruing on the disposal is so applied, the reinvestor shall, on making a claim in that behalf, be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if the amount of the gain accruing on the disposal were reduced to the amount of the consideration not applied in acquiring a qualifying investment, and the balance of the gain shall be treated as if it did not accrue until the reinvestor disposes of the qualifying investment.
(5)For the purposes of this section, the disposal of shares in or securities of a company shall be a material disposal if –
(a)throughout the period of 3 years ending with the date of the disposal, or
(b)in a case where the company commenced to trade at any time in the period mentioned in paragraph (a), throughout the period beginning at that time and ending with the date of the disposal,
the following conditions are satisfied –
(i)the company has been a trading company or a holding company, and
(ii)the reinvestor has been a full-time employee, part-time employee, full-time director or part-time director of the company or, if that company is a member of a trading group, of one or more companies which are members of the trading group.
(6)For the purposes of this section, an individual shall be regarded as acquiring a qualifying investment where he or she acquires any eligible shares in a qualifying company if –
(a)he or she holds not less than 5 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the company at any time in the period (in this subsection referred to as “the initial period”) beginning on the date of the acquisition of the eligible shares and ending on the date which is one year after the date of the disposal of the original holding,
(b)he or she holds not less than 15 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the company at any time in the period (in this section referred to as “the specified period”) beginning on the date of the acquisition of the eligible shares and ending on the date which is 3 years after the date of the disposal of the original holding,
(c)within the specified period, the company uses the money raised through the issue of the eligible shares for the purposes of enabling it, or enlarging its capacity, to undertake qualifying trading operations (within the meaning of subsection (8)),
(d)the company is not –
(i)the company in which the original holding has subsisted, or
(ii)a company that was a member of the same trading group as that company,
and
(e)he or she becomes at any time within the initial period, and is throughout the period beginning at that time and –
(i)ending at the end of the specified period, or
(ii)in a case where the company is wound up or dissolved without winding up and the conditions mentioned in subsection (7) (d) are satisfied, ending at the time of the commencement of the winding up or dissolution of the company,
a full-time employee or a full-time director of the company.
(7)
(a)For the purposes of this section and subject to paragraphs (b) to (d), a company shall be a qualifying company if it is incorporated in the State and if –
(i)it is throughout the specified period –
(I)an unquoted company resident in the State and not resident elsewhere, and
(II)a company which exists wholly for the purposes of carrying on wholly or mainly in the State of one or more qualifying trades,
and
(ii)it is not at any time in the specified period –
(I)under the control of another company (or of another company and any person connected with that other company), or
(II)without being under the control of another company, a 51 per cent subsidiary of that other company.
(b)A company shall be deemed not to have ceased to be a qualifying company solely by virtue of shares in the company commencing, at any time in the specified period, to be quoted on the market known as the Developing Companies Market of the Irish Stock Exchange.
(c)A company shall cease to be a qualifying company if at any time in the specified period a resolution is passed, or an order is made, for the winding up of the company (or in the case of a winding up otherwise than under the Companies Act 2014, any other act is done for the like purpose) or the company is dissolved without winding up.
(d)Notwithstanding paragraph (c), a company shall be deemed not to have ceased to be a qualifying company solely by virtue of the application of that paragraph where –
(i)it is shown that the winding up or dissolution is for bona fide commercial reasons and does not form part of a scheme or arrangement the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax, and
(ii)the company’s net assets, if any, are distributed to its members within 3 years from the commencement of the dissolution or the winding up.
(8)
(a)In this subsection, “qualifying trading operations”, in relation to a trade, means all the operations of the trade excluding those of dealing in shares, securities, land, currencies, futures or traded options.
(b)A trade shall be a qualifying trade for the purposes of subsection (7) if throughout the specified period the trade –
(i)is conducted on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits, and
(ii)consists wholly or mainly of qualifying trading operations,
and a trade which during the specified period consists partly of qualifying trading operations and partly of other trading operations shall be regarded for the purposes of this subsection as a trade which consists wholly or mainly of qualifying trading operations only if the total amount receivable in the specified period by the company carrying on the trade from sales made and services rendered in the course of qualifying trading operations is not less than 75 per cent of the total amount receivable by the company from all sales made and services rendered in the course of the trade in the specified period.
(9)A claim for relief under this section may be made after the making of a material disposal and the acquisition of eligible shares in a qualifying company if all the conditions for the relief are or will be satisfied, but the relief shall be withdrawn if, by reason of the subsequent happening of any event or failure of an event to happen which at the time the relief was claimed was expected to happen, the individual by whom the relief was claimed is not entitled to the relief so claimed.
(10)The withdrawal of relief under subsection (9) shall be made –
(a)for the year of assessment in which the happening or failure to happen, as the case may be, of the event giving rise to the withdrawal of the relief occurred, and
(b)in accordance with subsection (11),
and both –
(i)details of the happening or the failure to happen, as the case may be, of the event giving rise to the withdrawal of relief, and
(ii)the amount to be treated as a gain under subsection (11),
shall be included in the return required to be made by the individual concerned under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for that year of assessment.
(11)
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, where relief is to be withdrawn under subsection (9) for any year of assessment, such amount (in this subsection referred to as “the relevant amount”) of the chargeable gain which accrued to the reinvestor on the disposal of the original holding as was treated under subsection (2) or (4) as not accruing at that time –
(i)reduced in accordance with paragraph (b), and
(ii)increased in accordance with paragraph (c),
shall be treated as a gain which accrued in that year of assessment.
(b)The amount by which the relevant amount is to be reduced under paragraph (a) (i) is an amount equal to the aggregate of –
(i)to the extent that such excess has not been deducted in years of assessment subsequent to the year of assessment in which the disposal of the original holding occurred, the excess of the amount of the losses which would have been deducted under section 31 in the year of assessment in which the disposal of the original holding occurred, if relief under this section had not been claimed, over the amount of such losses which were so deducted in that year, and
(ii)any amount of chargeable gains in the year of assessment in which the disposal of the original holding occurred in respect of which the reinvestor would not by virtue of section 601 have been charged to capital gains tax if relief under this section had not been claimed.
(c)The amount by which the relevant amount is to be increased under paragraph (a) (ii) is an amount determined by the formula –
where –
Gis the relevant amount reduced in accordance with paragraph (b),
Ris 0.083, and
Mis the number of months in the period beginning on the date on which capital gains tax for the year of assessment in which the disposal of the original holding occurred was due and payable and ending on the date on which capital gains tax for the year of assessment for which the withdrawal of relief is to be made is due and payable.
(12)A chargeable gain or the balance of a chargeable gain which under subsection (2) or (4), as may be appropriate, is treated as accruing at a date later than the date of the disposal on which it accrued shall not be so treated for the purposes of section 556.
(13)Without prejudice to the provisions of the Capital Gains Tax Acts providing generally for apportionments, where consideration is given for the acquisition or disposal of any assets some or part of which are shares or other securities to the acquisition or disposal of which a claim under this section relates and some or part of which are not, the consideration shall be apportioned in such manner as is just and reasonable.
(14)This section shall not apply unless the acquisition of a qualifying investment was made for bona fide commercial reasons and not wholly or partly for the purposes of realising a gain from the disposal of the qualifying investment.
591A.
Dividends paid in connection with disposals of shares or securities.
(1)For the purposes of this section, a dividend paid, or a distribution made, by a company to a person in respect of shares or securities of the company in connection with a disposal of shares in the company shall be treated as being abnormal if the amount or value of the dividend, or as the case may be the distribution, exceeds the amount that could reasonably have been expected to be paid, or as the case may be made, in respect of the shares or securities of the company if there were no such disposal of the shares or securities.
(2)Where, in connection with the disposal by a person of any shares or securities of a company, there exists any scheme, arrangement or understanding by virtue of which, either directly or indirectly, an abnormal dividend is paid, or an abnormal distribution is made –
(a)where the person is a company, to that person or to any company connected (within the meaning of section 10) with that person, and
(b)where the person is not a company, to any company connected (within the meaning of section 10) with the person,
then, for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, the amount or value of the dividend paid, or distribution made, to the person or, as the case may be, to the connected person, shall be treated as consideration received by the person for the disposal of the shares or securities, and shall be ignored for the purposes of the Tax Acts.
(3)Subsection (2) does not apply if it is shown that the scheme, arrangement or understanding is effected for bona fide commercial reasons and is not, or does not form part of, any scheme, arrangement or understanding of which the main purpose or one of the main purposes is avoidance of liability to tax.
592.
Reduced rate of capital gains tax on certain disposals of shares by individuals.
Repealed from 3 December 1997
(1)In this section –
“disposal” does not include a relevant disposal within the meaning of section 648;
“ordinary share capital” has the same meaning as in section 2;
“ordinary shares” means shares forming part of a company’s ordinary share capital;
“period of ownership”, in relation to an individual making a disposal of qualifying shares, means the individual’s period of continuous ownership of the shares in the same capacity ending on the date of such disposal and, for the purposes of this definition, where the shares were acquired by the individual on the death of that individual’s spouse so that the individual’s period of ownership would apart from this definition be treated as having commenced on the date of that death, the individual’s period of ownership shall be deemed to be extended to include the individual’s spouse’s period of ownership ending on that date;
“qualifying company” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2);
“qualifying shares”, in relation to a company, means ordinary shares of the company which are fully paid up and which carry no present or future preferential rights to dividends or to the company’s assets on its winding up and no present or future preferential right to be redeemed;
“qualifying trade” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (4);
“qualifying trading operations”, in relation to a trade, means all the operations of the trade excluding those of dealing in shares, securities, land, currencies, futures or traded options;
“the specified period”, in relation to the disposal of qualifying shares, means the period of 3 years immediately preceding the date of the disposal of those shares;
“trade” includes a profession, and “qualifying trade” and “qualifying trading operations” shall be construed accordingly;
“unquoted company” means a company none of whose shares, stocks or debentures are listed in the official list of a stock exchange or quoted on an unlisted securities market.
(2)For the purposes of this section, a company shall be a qualifying company in relation to the disposal of qualifying shares where –
(a)at the date of acquisition of those shares, it is an unquoted company which is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere and which has an issued share capital the market value of which is not more than £25,000,000, and
(b)throughout the specified period, it is a company which is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere and –
(i)which exists wholly or mainly for the purposes of the carrying on of one or more qualifying trades, or
(ii)the business of which consists –
(I)wholly or mainly of the holding of shares in one or more connected companies, or
(II)wholly or mainly of both the holding of such shares and the carrying on of one or more qualifying trades.
(3)
(a)A company shall be regarded as having satisfied the condition referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i) only if throughout the specified period not less than 75 per cent of the market value of all the issued share capital of the company derives from the carrying on by the company of one or more qualifying trades.
(b)A company shall be regarded as having satisfied the condition referred to in clause (I) or (II), as the case may be, of subsection (2)(b)(ii) only if throughout the specified period not less than 75 per cent of the market value of all the issued share capital of the company derives from the carrying on of one or more qualifying trades by the connected companies or, as the case may be, by the company and the connected companies.
(c)In a case where a connected company (in this paragraph referred to as “the first-mentioned company”) is a company whose business consists of the holding of shares in one or more companies, references in paragraph (b) to the connected companies shall be construed as including references to the companies which are connected with the first-mentioned company.
(4)For the purposes of this section, a trade shall be a qualifying trade if throughout the specified period it consists of qualifying trading operations and, where during that period a trade consists partly of qualifying trading operations and partly of other trading operations, the part of the trade which consists of other trading operations shall be treated as a separate trade.
(5)For the purposes of this section, where a company (in this subsection referred to as “the first-mentioned company”) holds shares in another company, that other company shall be regarded as connected with the first-mentioned company if –
(a)at the date of the acquisition of those shares by the first-mentioned company it was an unquoted company,
(b)it is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere, and
(c)not less than 20 per cent of the total voting rights in the company are exercisable by the first-mentioned company.
(6)As respects chargeable gains accruing to an individual on the disposal of qualifying shares in a qualifying company in a case where the individual’s period of ownership of those shares is not less than 3 years, section 28(3) shall apply as if the reference in that section to 40 per cent were a reference to 26 per cent.
(7)
(a)In this subsection and in subsection (8), “original shares” and “new holding” have the same meanings respectively as in section 584.
(b)If the time when an individual acquires qualifying shares would be determined under section 584, 585, 586 or 587, it shall be determined in the same way for the purposes of this section where the following conditions are satisfied –
(i)both the original shares and the new holding constitute qualifying shares, and
(ii)the individual is not treated under section 584(4) as giving or becoming liable to give any consideration, other than the original shares, for the acquisition of the new holding.
(8)
(a)In a case where subsection (7)(b) applies and the new holding is held for a period of not less than 3 years, subsection (2) shall apply as if –
(i)in paragraph (a) of that subsection “at the date of acquisition of the original shares” were substituted for “at the date of acquisition of those shares”,
(ii)where the company in which the new holding subsists is not the company in which the original shares subsisted, in paragraph (a) of that subsection “the company in which the original shares subsisted is” were substituted for “it is”, and
(iii)in paragraph (b) of that subsection “the company in which the new holding subsists is” were substituted for “it is”.
(b)In a case where subsection (7)(b) applies and the new holding is held for a period of less than 3 years, subsection (2) shall apply –
(i)as if in paragraph (a) of that subsection “at the date of acquisition of the original shares” were substituted for “at the date of acquisition of those shares”, and
(ii)where the company in which the new holding subsists is not the company in which the original shares subsisted as if –
(I)in paragraph (a) of that subsection “the company in which the original shares subsisted is” were substituted for “it is”,
(II)in paragraph (b) of that subsection “throughout that part of the specified period commencing on the date of the acquisition of the new holding, the company in which the new holding subsists is” were substituted for “throughout the specified period, it is”, and
(III)the conditions referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection applied also to the company in which the original shares subsisted but only in relation to the part of the specified period which does not include the part of that period mentioned in clause (II).
Chapter 3
Assets held in a fiduciary or representative capacity, inheritances and settlements (ss. 567-579F)
567.
Nominees, bare trustees and agents.
(1)References in the Capital Gains Tax Acts to any asset held by a person as trustee for another person absolutely entitled as against the trustee are references to a case where that other person has the exclusive right, or would have such a right if that other person were not an infant or other person under disability, subject only to satisfying any outstanding charge, lien or right of the trustees to resort to the asset for payment of duty, taxes, costs or other outgoings, to direct how that asset shall be dealt with.
(2)In relation to assets held by a person (in this subsection referred to as “the first-mentioned person”) as nominee for another person, or as trustee for another person absolutely entitled as against the trustee, or for any person who would be so entitled but for being an infant or other person under disability (or for 2 or more persons who are or would be jointly so entitled), the Capital Gains Tax Acts shall apply as if the property were vested in, and the acts of the first-mentioned person in relation to the assets were the acts of, the person or persons for whom the first-mentioned person is the nominee or trustee (acquisitions from or disposals to the first-mentioned person by that person or those persons being disregarded accordingly).
(3)Where exploration or exploitation activities are carried on by a person on behalf of the holder of a licence or lease granted under the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960, such holder shall for the purpose of an assessment to capital gains tax be deemed to be the agent of that person.
(4)Schedule 1 shall apply for the purpose of supplementing subsection (3).
568.
Liability of trustees, etc.
(1)Capital gains tax chargeable in respect of chargeable gains accruing to the trustees of a settlement or capital gains tax due from the personal representatives of a deceased person may be assessed and charged on and in the name of one or more of those trustees or personal representatives.
(2)Subject to section 567(2), chargeable gains accruing to the trustees of a settlement or to the personal representatives of a deceased person, and capital gains tax chargeable on or in the name of such trustees or personal representatives, shall not be regarded for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as accruing to or chargeable on any other person, nor shall any trustee or personal representative be regarded for the purposes of those Acts as an individual.
569.
Assets of insolvent person.
(1)In this section –
‘deed of arrangement’ means a deed of arrangement to which the Deeds of Arrangement Act 1887 applies;
‘insolvent person’ means an individual who is insolvent and who has entered into a Debt Settlement Arrangement or a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (both within the meaning of section 2 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012) with his or her creditors;
‘relevant person’ means a personal insolvency practitioner (within the meaning of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012) who holds the assets of an insolvent person in trust for the benefit of creditors of that insolvent person under a Debt Settlement Arrangement or a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (both within the meaning aforesaid).
(2)In relation to assets held by a person as trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or under a deed of arrangement or by a relevant person, the Capital Gains Tax Acts shall apply as if the assets were vested in, and the acts of the trustee, assignee or relevant person in relation to the assets were the acts of, the bankrupt, debtor or insolvent person (acquisitions from or disposals to such person by the bankrupt, debtor or insolvent person being disregarded accordingly), and tax in respect of any chargeable gains which accrue to any such trustee, assignee or relevant person shall be assessable on and recoverable from such trustee, assignee or relevant person.
(3)Assets held by a trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or under a deed of arrangement or by a relevant person at the death of the bankrupt, debtor or insolvent person shall for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts be regarded as held by a personal representative of the deceased, and –
(a)subsection (2) shall not apply after the death, and
(b)section 573(2) shall apply as if any assets held by a trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or under a deed of arrangement or by a relevant person at the death of the bankrupt, debtor or insolvent person were assets of which the deceased was competent to dispose and which then devolved on the trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or the relevant person as if the trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or the relevant person were a personal representative.
(4)Assets vesting in a trustee in bankruptcy or a relevant person after the death of the bankrupt, debtor or insolvent person shall for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts be regarded as held by a personal representative of the deceased, and subsection (2) shall not apply.
570.
Company in liquidation.
Where assets of a company are vested in a liquidator under section 614 of the Companies Act 2014, or otherwise, the Capital Gains Tax Acts shall apply as if the assets were vested in, and the acts of the liquidator in relation to the assets were acts of, the company (acquisitions from or disposals to the liquidator by the company being disregarded accordingly).
571.
Chargeable gains accruing on disposals by liquidators and certain other persons.
(1)In this section –
“accountable person” means –
(a)a liquidator of a company, or
(b)any person entitled to an asset by means of security or to the benefit of a charge or encumbrance on an asset or, as the case may be, any person appointed to enforce or give effect to the security, charge or encumbrance;
“the company” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (6);
“the debtor” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5);
“referable capital gains tax” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2);
“referable corporation tax” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (3);
“relevant disposal” has the same meaning as in section 648.
(2)In this section –
(a)in a case where no chargeable gains other than the chargeable gains mentioned in subsection (5)(a) (in this subsection referred to as “the referable gains”) accrued to the debtor in the year of assessment, “referable capital gains tax” means the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (5) would be assessable on the debtor in respect of the referable gains;
(b)in a case where, in addition to the referable gains, other chargeable gains accrued to the debtor in the year of assessment and, in charging all of those gains to capital gains tax without regard to subsection (5), the same rate of tax would apply, and either –
(i)none of the disposals on which the chargeable gains accrued is a relevant disposal, or
(ii)each of the disposals is a relevant disposal,
“referable capital gains tax” means an amount of tax determined by the formula –
Ais the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (5) would be assessable on the debtor in respect of the referable gains if no other chargeable gains accrued to the debtor in the year of assessment and if no deductions or reliefs were to be allowed against the referable gains,
Bis the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (5) would be assessable on the debtor in respect of all chargeable gains, including the referable gains, which accrued to the debtor in the year of assessment, if no deductions or reliefs were to be allowed against those chargeable gains, and
Cis the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (5) would be assessable on the debtor in respect of the total amount of chargeable gains, including the referable gains, which accrued to the debtor in the year of assessment;
(c)in any other case, “referable capital gains tax” means the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (5) and taking into account –
(i)all other chargeable gains accruing to the debtor in the year of assessment, and
(ii)where appropriate, sections 546(6), 601(3) and 653,
would be the amount of capital gains tax appropriate to the referable gains.
(3)In this section –
(a)in a case where no chargeable gains other than –
(i)the chargeable gains mentioned in subsection (6)(a) (in this subsection referred to as “the referable gains”), or
(ii)any chargeable gains accruing on a relevant disposal,
accrued to the company in the accounting period, “referable corporation tax” means the amount of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (6) would be assessable on the company in respect of the referable gains on the assumptions that –
(I)notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Corporation Tax Acts, capital gains tax was to be charged in respect of the refereable gains in accordance with the Capital Gains Tax Acts, and
(II)accounting periods were years of assessment,
or, if it is less, the amount of corporation tax which apart from subsection (6) would be assessable on the company for the accounting period;
(b)in a case where, in addition to the referable gains, other chargeable gains (not being chargeable gains accruing on a relevant disposal) accrued to the company in the accounting period and, on the assumptions made in paragraph (a), in charging all of those gains to capital gains tax without regard to subsection (6), the same rate of tax would apply, “referable corporation tax” means an amount of tax determined by the formula –
where –
Dis the amount of capital gains tax which, apart from subsection (6) and on the assumptions made in paragraph (a), would be assessable on the company in respect of the referable gains if no other chargeable gains accrued to the company in the accounting period and if no deductions or reliefs were to be allowed against the referable gains,
Eis the amount of capital gains tax which, apart from subsection (6) and on the assumptions made in paragraph (a), would be assessable on the company in respect of all chargeable gains including the referable gains (but not including chargeable gains accruing on a relevant disposal) which accrued to the company in the accounting period, if no deductions or reliefs were to be allowed against those chargeable gains, and
Fis the amount (in this subsection referred to as “the notional amount”) of capital gains tax which apart from subsection (6) would in accordance with section 78(2) be calculated in relation to the company for the accounting period in respect of all chargeable gains including the referable gains or, if it is less, the amount of corporation tax which apart from subsection (6) would be assessable on the company for the accounting period;
(c)
(i)in any other case, “referable corporation tax” means, subject to subparagraph (ii), the amount of capital gains tax which, apart from subsection (6) and on the assumptions made in paragraph (a), and taking into account –
(I)all other chargeable gains (not being chargeable gains accruing on a relevant disposal) accruing to the company in the accounting period, and
(II)where appropriate, sections 546(6) and 653,
would be the amount of capital gains tax appropriate to the referable gains;
(ii)in any case in which subparagraph (i) applies, if the notional amount is greater than the amount of corporation tax which apart from subsection (6) would be assessable on the company for the accounting period, “referable corporation tax” shall mean an amount determined by the formula –
where –
Gis the amount which under subparagraph (i) would be the referable corporation tax,
His the notional amount, and
Kis the amount of corporation tax which apart from subsection (6) would be assessable on the company for the accounting period.
(4)
(a)In any case where, in calculating an amount of referable capital gains tax or referable corporation tax under subsection (2)(c) or (3)(c), deductions or reliefs were to be allowed against chargeable gains accruing in a year of assessment or in an accounting period and apart from this subsection those deductions or reliefs (or part of them) would be set against 2 or more chargeable gains chargeable at the same rate of capital gains tax, then, those deductions or reliefs (or, as the case may be, that part of them) shall, in so far as is necessary to calculate the amount of referable capital gains tax or referable corporation tax, be apportioned between the chargeable gains chargeable at the same rate in proportion to the amounts of those chargeable gains.
(b)In the case of chargeable gains accruing to a company (not being chargeable gains accruing on a relevant disposal), any reference in paragraph (a) to a rate of tax shall be construed as a reference to the rate of capital gains tax which would be applicable to those gains on the assumptions made in subsection (3)(a).
(5)Where section 537(2) or 570 applies in respect of the disposal of an asset in a year of assessment by an accountable person, then, notwithstanding any provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts –
(a)any referable capital gains tax in respect of any chargeable gains which accrue on the disposal shall be assessable on and recoverable from the accountable person,
(b)the referable capital gains tax shall be treated as a necessary disbursement out of the proceeds of the disposal and shall be paid by the accountable person out of those proceeds, and
(c)referable capital gains tax paid by the accountable person shall discharge a corresponding amount of the liability to capital gains tax, for the year of assessment in which the disposal is made, of the person (in this section referred to as “the debtor”) who apart from this subsection is the chargeable person in relation to the disposal.
(6)Where section 78(8) or 537(2) applies in respect of the disposal (not being a relevant disposal) of an asset in an accounting period of a company by an accountable person, then, notwithstanding any provision of the Corporation Tax Acts –
(a)any referable corporation tax in respect of any chargeable gains which accrue on the disposal shall be assessable on and recoverable from the accountable person,
(b)the referable corporation tax shall be treated as a necessary disbursement out of the proceeds of the disposal and shall be paid by the accountable person out of those proceeds, and
(c)referable corporation tax paid by the accountable person shall discharge a corresponding amount of the liability to corporation tax, for the accounting period in which the disposal is made, of the company (in this section referred to as “the company”) which apart from this subsection is the chargeable person in relation to the disposal.
(7)Notwithstanding any provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts or of the Corporation Tax Acts, the amount of referable capital gains tax or referable corporation tax, as the case may be, which under this section is assessable on an accountable person in relation to a disposal, shall be recoverable by an assessment on the accountable person to income tax under Case IV of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which the disposal occurred on an amount the income tax on which at the standard rate for that year of assessment is equal to the amount of the referable capital gains tax or referable corporation tax, as the case may be.
(8)Where tax is paid by an accountable person under this section and it is established that the amount of tax paid is excessive, appropriate relief by means of repayment or otherwise shall be given to the accountable person.
(9)Subject to subsections (5)(c) and (6)(c), nothing in this section shall affect the amount of chargeable gains on which –
(a)the debtor is chargeable to capital gains tax, or
(b)the company is chargeable to corporation tax.
572.
Funds in court.
(1)In this section –
“the Accountant” means the Accountant attached to the court or a deputy appointed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;
“court” means the High Court except where the reference is to the Circuit Court;
“funds in court” means any moneys (and investments representing such moneys), annuities, stocks, shares or other securities standing or to be placed to the account of the Accountant in the books of the Bank of Ireland or any company, and includes boxes and other effects.
(2)For the purposes of section 567(2), funds in court shall be regarded as held by the Accountant as nominee for the persons entitled to or interested in the funds or, as the case may be, for their trustees.
(3)Where funds in court standing to an account in the books of the Accountant are invested or after investment are realised, the method by which the Accountant effects the investment or the realisation of investments shall not affect the question as to whether there is for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts an acquisition or, as the case may be, a disposal of an asset representing funds in court standing to that account, and in particular there shall for those purposes be an acquisition or disposal of assets notwithstanding that the investment of funds in court standing to an account in the books of the Accountant, or the realisation of funds which have been so invested, is effected by setting off in the Accountant’s accounts investment in one account against realisation of investments in another.
(4)This section shall apply with any necessary modifications to funds in the Circuit Court as it applies to funds in court.
573.
Death.
(1)In this section, references to assets of which a deceased person was competent to dispose are references to assets of the deceased which the deceased could if of full age and capacity have disposed of by will, assuming that all the assets were situated in the State and that the deceased was domiciled in the State, and include references to the deceased’s severable share in any assets to which immediately before his or her death he or she was beneficially entitled as a joint tenant.
(2)For the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, the assets of which a deceased person was competent to dispose –
(a)shall be deemed to be acquired on his or her death by the personal representatives or other person on whom they devolve for a consideration equal to their market value at the date of the death; but
(b)shall not be deemed to be disposed of by him or her on his or her death (whether or not they were the subject of a testamentary disposition).
(3)Allowable losses sustained by an individual in the year of assessment in which he or she dies may, in so far as they cannot be deducted from chargeable gains accruing in that year, be deducted from chargeable gains accruing to the deceased in the 3 years of assessment preceding the year of assessment in which the death occurs, taking chargeable gains accruing in a later year before those accruing in an earlier year, and there shall be made all such amendments of assessments or repayments of tax as may be necessary to give effect to this subsection.
(4)In relation to property forming part of the estate of a deceased person, the personal representatives shall for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts be treated as being a single and continuing body of persons (distinct from the persons who may from time to time be the personal representatives), and that body shall be treated as having the deceased’s residence, ordinary residence and domicile at the date of death.
(5)Where any asset is acquired by a person as legatee no chargeable gain shall accrue to the personal representatives, but the legatee shall be treated as if the personal representatives’ acquisition of the asset had been the legatee’s acquisition of the asset.
(6)Where not more than 2 years, or such longer period as the Revenue Commissioners may by notice in writing allow, after a death any of the dispositions of the property of which the deceased was competent to dispose, whether effected by will or under the law relating to intestacies or otherwise, are varied by a deed of family arrangement or similar instrument, this section shall apply as if the variations made by the deed or other instrument were effected by the deceased, and no disposition made by the deed or other instrument shall constitute a disposal for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts.
574.
Trustees of settlement.
(1)
(a)In relation to settled property, the trustees of a settlement shall for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts be treated as being a single and continuing body of persons (distinct from the persons who may from time to time be the trustees) and, subject to paragraph (b), that body shall be treated as being resident and ordinarily resident in the State unless the general administration of the trusts is ordinarily carried on outside the State and the trustees or a majority of them for the time being are not resident or not ordinarily resident in the State.
(b)A person carrying on a business which consists of or includes the management of trusts, and acting as trustees of a trust in the course of that business, shall be treated in relation to that trust as not resident in the State if the whole of the settled property consists of or derives from property provided by a person not at the time (or, in the case of a trust arising under a testamentary disposition or on an intestacy or partial intestacy, at his or her death) domiciled, resident or ordinarily resident in the State and, if in such a case the trustees or a majority of them are or are treated in relation to that trust as not resident in the State, the general administration of the trust shall be treated as ordinarily carried on outside the State.
(2)Where any amount of capital gains tax assessed on the trustees or any one trustee of a settlement in respect of a chargeable gain accruing to the trustee is not paid within 6 months from the date when it becomes payable by the trustees or trustee and, before or after the expiration of that period of 6 months, the asset in respect of which the chargeable gain accrued, or any part of the proceeds of sale of that asset, is transferred by the trustees to a person who as against the trustees is absolutely entitled to it, then, that person may, at any time within 2 years from the time when that amount of tax became payable, be assessed and charged (in the name of the trustees) to an amount of capital gains tax not exceeding the amount of capital gains tax chargeable on an amount equal to the amount of the chargeable gain and, where part only of the asset or of the proceeds was transferred, not exceeding a proportionate part of that amount.
(3)For the purposes of this section, where part of the property comprised in a settlement is vested in one trustee or set of trustees and part in another trustee or set of trustees, they shall be treated as together constituting and, in so far as they act separately, as acting on behalf of a single body of trustees.
575.
Gifts in settlement.
A gift in settlement, whether revocable or irrevocable, shall be a disposal of the entire property thereby becoming settled property notwithstanding that the donor has some interest as a beneficiary under the settlement and notwithstanding that the donor is a trustee or the sole trustee of the settlement.
576.
Person becoming absolutely entitled to settled property.
(1)On the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to any settled property as against the trustee, all the assets forming part of the settled property to which the person becomes so entitled shall be deemed for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts to have been disposed of by the trustee, and immediately reacquired by the trustee in the trustee’s capacity as a trustee within section 567(2), for a consideration equal to their market value.
(2)On the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to any settled property as against the trustee, any allowable loss which has accrued to the trustee in respect of property which is, or is represented by, the property to which that person becomes so entitled (including any allowable loss carried forward to the year of assessment in which that occasion falls), being a loss which cannot be deducted from chargeable gains accruing to the trustee in that year, but before that occasion, shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if it were an allowable loss accruing at that time to the person becoming so entitled, instead of to the trustee.
577.
Termination of life interest on death of person entitled.
(1)
(a)In this section, “life interest”, in relation to a settlement –
(i)includes a right under the settlement to the income of, or the use or occupation of, settled property for the life of a person (or for the lives of persons) other than the person entitled to the right,
(ii)does not include any right which is contingent on the exercise of the discretion of the trustee or the discretion of some other person, and
(iii)does not include an annuity, notwithstanding that the annuity is payable out of or charged on settled property or the income of settled property except where some or all of the settled property is appropriated by the trustees as a fund out of which the annuity is payable and there is no right of recourse to settled property not so appropriated, or to the income of settled property not so appropriated.
(b)Without prejudice to subsection (4)(b), where under paragraph (a) (iii) an annuity is to be treated as a life interest in relation to a settlement, the settled property or the part of the settled property appropriated by the trustees as a fund out of which the annuity is payable shall, while the annuity is payable and on the occasion of the death of the annuitant, be treated for the purposes of subsection (3) as being settled property under a separate settlement.
(2)Where by virtue of section 576(1) the assets forming part of any settled property are deemed to be disposed of and reacquired by the trustee on the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to the assets as against the trustee, then, if that occasion is the termination of a life interest by the death of the person entitled to that interest –
(a)no chargeable gain shall accrue on the disposal, and
(b)the reacquisition under that section shall be deemed to be for a consideration equal to the market value of the assets at the date of the death.
(3)On the termination of a life interest in possession in all or any part of settled property, the whole or a corresponding part of each of the assets forming part of the settled property and not ceasing at that time to be settled property shall be deemed for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts at that time to be disposed of by the trustee, and immediately reacquired by the trustee, for a consideration equal to the whole or a corresponding part of the market value of the asset.
(4)For the purposes of subsection (3) –
(a)a life interest which is a right to part of the income of settled property shall be treated as a life interest in a corresponding part of the settled property, and
(b)if there is a life interest in a part of the settled property and, where that interest is a life interest in income, there is no right of recourse to, or to the income of, the remainder of the settled property, the part of the settled property in which the life interest subsists shall while it subsists be treated for the purposes of this subsection as being settled property under a separate settlement.
(5)
(a)Subject to paragraph (b), where –
(i)as a consequence of a termination, on the death of the person entitled to it, of a life interest in settled property, subsection (3) applies, and
(ii)an asset which forms the whole or any part of that settled property –
(I)is comprised in an inheritance (within the meaning of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act 2003) taken on the death, and
(II)is exempt from tax in relation to the inheritance under section 77 of that Act, or that section as applied by section 77(6) and (7) of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003,
that asset shall for the purposes of subsection (3), be excluded from the assets deemed to be disposed of and immediately reacquired.
(b)Where, in a year of assessment, in respect of an asset an exemption from tax in relation to an inheritance referred to in paragraph (a) ceases to apply, then, the chargeable gain which but for paragraph (a) would have accrued to the trustee on the termination of the life interest in accordance with subsection (3) shall be deemed to accrue to the trustee in that year of assessment and shall accordingly be included in the return required to be made by the trustee concerned under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for that year of assessment.
577A.
Relinquishing of a life interest by the person entitled.
Where by virtue of section 576(1) the assets forming Part of any settled property are deemed to be disposed of and immediately reacquired by the trustee on the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to the assets as against the trustee, then, in case that occasion is the relinquishing of a life interest (within the meaning of section 577) by the person entitled to that interest, the trustee shall be given such relief as would be given under sections 598 and 599 to the person who relinquished the life interest –
(a)if the person had become absolutely entitled to the assets as against the trustee at the commencement of the life interest and had continued to be so entitled throughout the period (in this section referred to as the ‘life interest period’) that the life interest subsisted, and
(b)as if any expenditure of the kind referred to in paragraph (b) of section 552(1) that was incurred on the assets during the life interest period by the trustee had been incurred by the person.
578.
Death of annuitant.
Sections 576(1) and 577(3) shall apply where an annuity which is not a life interest within the meaning of section 577 is terminated by the death of the annuitant as they apply on the termination of a life interest (within the meaning of that section) by the death of the person entitled to that life interest.
579.
Non-resident trusts.
(1)This section shall apply as respects chargeable gains accruing to the trustees of a settlement where the trustees are not resident and not ordinarily resident in the State, and where the settlor or one of the settlors is either resident or ordinarily resident in the State, or was either resident or ordinarily resident in the State when such settlor made the settlement.
(2)
(a)Any beneficiary under the settlement who is domiciled and either resident or ordinarily resident in the State in any year of assessment shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if an apportioned part of the amount, if any, on which the trustees would have been chargeable to capital gains tax under section 31, if domiciled and either resident or ordinarily resident in the State in that year of assessment, had been chargeable gains accruing to the beneficiary in that year of assessment.
(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), where a beneficiary under the settlement was neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State in a year of assessment during which a gain accrued to the trustees, but was so resident or ordinarily resident in an earlier and subsequent year of assessment, the gain which would have accrued to that beneficiary if paragraph (a) had applied shall be treated as accruing in the first year of assessment in which he or she subsequently becomes resident or ordinarily resident in the State.
(c)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), where a person was excluded as a beneficiary under the settlement for a period of time but was subsequently included as a beneficiary of that settlement and a gain accrued to the trustees during a year of assessment when that beneficiary was so excluded, a gain which would have accrued to the beneficiary if paragraph (a) had applied shall be treated as accruing in the first year of assessment in which that person was subsequently included as a beneficiary of the settlement concerned.
(d)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if a beneficiary is not treated under the provisions of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) as if any apportioned part of a gain accrued to him or her in a year of assessment and –
(i)the trustees have earlier realised a chargeable gain, and
(ii)the beneficiary receives a capital payment (within the meaning of section 579A(1)) from the trust during a year of assessment in which he or she is either resident or ordinarily resident in the State,
then, the beneficiary shall be treated as if an amount equal to –
(I)the capital payment, or
(II)the apportioned gain which would have accrued to him or her if paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) had applied,
whichever is less, were a chargeable gain accruing to him or her in the year of assessment in which the capital payment is received.
(e)For the purposes of this section, any amount referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) shall be apportioned in such manner as is just and reasonable between persons having interests in the settled property, whether the interest is a life interest or an interest in reversion, and so that the chargeable gain is apportioned as near as may be according to the respective values of those interests, disregarding in the case of a defeasible interest the possibility of defeasance.
(3)For the purposes of this section –
(a)where in any of the 5 years ending with that in which the chargeable gain accrues a person has received a payment or payments out of the income of the settled property made in exercise of a discretion, such person shall be regarded, in relation to that chargeable gain, as having an interest in the settled property of a value equal to that of an annuity of a yearly amount equal to 20 per cent of the total of the payments so received by such person in those 5 years, and
(b)[deleted]
(4)In the case of a settlement made before the 28th day of February, 1974 –
(a)subsection (2) shall not apply to a beneficiary whose interest is solely in the income of the settled property and who cannot, by means of the exercise of any power of appointment or power of revocation or otherwise, obtain for himself or herself, whether with or without the consent of any other person, any part of the capital represented by the settled property, and
(b)payment of capital gains tax chargeable on a gain apportioned to a beneficiary in respect of an interest in reversion in any part of the capital represented by the settled property may be postponed until that person becomes absolutely entitled to that part of the settled property, or disposes of the whole or any part of his or her interest, unless he or she can, by any means described in paragraph (a), obtain for himself or herself any of it at any earlier time,
and, for the purposes of this subsection, property added to a settlement after the settlement is made shall be regarded as property under a separate settlement made at the time when the property is so added.
(5)In any case in which the amount of any capital gains tax payable by a beneficiary under a settlement in accordance with this section is paid by the trustees of the settlement, such amount shall not for the purposes of income tax or capital gains tax be regarded as a payment to such beneficiary.
(6)This section shall not apply –
(a)in relation to a loss accruing to the trustees of the settlement, or
(b)where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time when the charge to capital gains tax arises, genuine economic activities are carried on by the settlement in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)).
579A.
Attribution of gains to beneficiaries.
(1)
(a)For the purposes of this section and the following sections of this Chapter, ‘capital payments’ means any payment which is not chargeable to income tax on the recipient or, in the case of a recipient who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State, any payment received otherwise than as income, but does not include a payment under a transaction entered into at arm’s length.
(b)In paragraph (a) references to a payment include references to the transfer of an asset and the conferring of any benefit, and to any occasion on which settled property becomes property to which section 567(2) applies.
(c)The amount of a capital payment made by way of loan, and of any other capital payment which is not an outright payment of money, shall be taken to be equal to the value of the benefit conferred by it.
(d)A capital payment shall be treated as received by a beneficiary from the trustees of a settlement if –
(i)the beneficiary receives it from the trustees directly or indirectly,
(ii)it is directly or indirectly applied by the trustees in payment of any debt of the beneficiary or is otherwise paid for the benefit of the beneficiary, or
(iii)it is received by a third party at the beneficiary’s direction.
(2)
(a)This section shall apply to a settlement for any year of assessment (beginning on or after 6 April 1999) during which the trustees are at no time resident or ordinarily resident in the State, and –
(i)the settlor does not have an interest in the settlement at any time in that year of assessment, or
(ii)the settlor does have an interest in the settlement but –
(I)was not domiciled in the State, and
(II)was neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State,
in that year of assessment, or when the settlor made the settlement.
(b)Section 579 shall not apply as respects chargeable gains accruing after 5 April 1999 to trustees of a settlement to which this section applies; and references in subsections (4) and (5) to capital payments received by beneficiaries do not include references to any payments received before 11 February 1999 or any payments received on or after that date so far as they represent a chargeable gain which accrued to the trustees in respect of a disposal by the trustees before 11 February 1999.
(c)For the purposes of this subsection a settlor has an interest in a settlement if –
(i)any relevant property which is, or may at any time become, comprised in the settlement is, or will or may become, applicable for the benefit of or payable in any circumstances to, a relevant beneficiary,
(ii)any relevant income which arises, or may arise, under the settlement is, or will or may become, applicable for the benefit of or payable in any circumstances to, a relevant beneficiary, or
(iii)a relevant beneficiary enjoys a benefit directly or indirectly from any relevant property which is comprised in the settlement or any relevant income arising under the settlement.
(d)In this subsection –
‘relevant beneficiary’ means –
(i)the settlor,
(ii)the spouse or civil partner of the settlor,
(iii)a company controlled by either or both the settlor and the spouse of the settlor, or
(iv)a company associated with a company referred to in paragraph (iii) of this definition;
‘relevant income’ means income originating from the settlor;
‘relevant property’ means property originating from the settlor.
(e)For the purposes of this subsection –
(i)references to property originating from a person are references to property provided by that person, and property representing that property,
(ii)references to income originating from a person are references to income from property originating from that person and income provided by that person,
(iii)whether a company is controlled by a person or persons shall be construed in accordance with section 432 without regard to subsection (6) of that section,
(iv)whether a company is associated with another company shall be construed in accordance with section 432 without regard to subsection (6) of that section, and
(v)references to relevant property comprised in a settlement being, or becoming, applicable for the benefit of or payable in any circumstances to, a relevant beneficiary, do not include references to the repayment of, or obligation to repay, a loan to a settlor which loan was provided by the settlor to the trustees of the settlement on terms that it would be repaid.
(f)Where, for the year of assessment 2002 or any subsequent year of assessment, chargeable gains are treated as accruing to a beneficiary under a settlement by virtue of section 579, then notwithstanding that section such chargeable gains, in so far as they are in respect of a disposal made on or after 7 March 2002 by the trustees of the settlement, shall be treated as accruing to the settlor in relation to the settlement and not to any other person, if the settlor is resident or ordinarily resident in the State, whether or not the settlor is the beneficiary.
(3)There shall be computed in respect of every year of assessment for which this section applies the amount on which the trustees would have been chargeable to capital gains tax under section 31 if they had been resident and ordinarily resident in the State in the year of assessment and that amount, together with the corresponding amount in respect of any earlier such year of assessment, so far as not already treated under subsection (4) or section 579F(2) as chargeable gains accruing to beneficiaries under the settlement, is in this section referred to as ‘the trust gains for the year of assessment’.
(4)Subject to this section, the trust gains for a year of assessment shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as chargeable gains accruing in the year of assessment to beneficiaries of the settlement who receive capital payments from the trustees in the year of assessment or have received such payments in any earlier year of assessment.
(5)The attribution of chargeable gains to beneficiaries under subsection (4) shall be made in proportion to, but shall not exceed, the amounts of capital payments received by them.
(6)A capital payment shall be left out of account for the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) to the extent that chargeable gains have, by reason of the payment, been treated as accruing to the recipient in an earlier year of assessment.
(7)A beneficiary shall not be charged to tax on chargeable gains treated by virtue of subsection (4) as accruing to him or her in any year of assessment unless he or she is domiciled in the State at some time in that year of assessment.
(8)For the purposes of this section a settlement arising under a will or intestacy shall be treated as made by the testator or, as the case may be, intestate at the time of death.
(9)In any case in which the amount of any capital gains tax payable by a beneficiary under a settlement in accordance with this section is paid by the trustees of the settlement, such amount shall not for the purposes of income tax or capital gains tax be regarded as a payment to the beneficiary.
(9A)This section shall not apply where it is shown in writing or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, at the time when the charge to capital gains tax arises, genuine economic activities are carried on by the settlement in a relevant Member State (within the meaning of section 806(11)(a)).
(10)[deleted]
(11)[deleted]
579B.
Trustees ceasing to be resident in the State.
(1)In this section and in the following sections of this Chapter –
‘arrangements’ means arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1) (as extended to capital gains tax by section 828);
‘the new assets’ and ‘the old assets’ have the meaning assigned, respectively, to them by section 597(4).
(2)This section shall apply where the trustees of a settlement become at any time (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘relevant time’) neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State.
(3)The trustees to whom this section applies shall, for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, be deemed –
(a)to have disposed of the defined assets immediately before the relevant time, and
(b)immediately to have reacquired them,
at their market value at that time.
(4)Subject to subsections (5) and (6), the defined assets are all assets constituting settled property of the settlement immediately before the relevant time.
(5)If immediately after the relevant time –
(a)the trustees carry on a trade in the State through a branch or agency, and
(b)any assets are situated in the State and either used in or for the purposes of the trade or used or held for the purposes of the branch or agency,
the assets falling within paragraph (b) shall not be defined assets.
(6)Assets shall not be defined assets if –
(a)they are of a description specified in any arrangements, and
(b)the trustees would, were they to dispose of them immediately before the relevant time, fall to be regarded for the purposes of the arrangements as not being liable in the State to tax on gains accruing to them on the disposal.
(7)Notwithstanding anything in that section –
(a)section 597 shall not apply where the trustees –
(i)have disposed of the old assets, or their interest in them, before the relevant time, and
(ii)acquire the new assets, or their interest in them, after the relevant time, and
(b)where under section 597 a chargeable gain accruing on a disposal of old assets is treated as not accruing until a time later (being the time that the new assets cease to be used for the purposes of a trade or other purposes as referred to in subsection (2) of that section) than the time of the disposal, and, but for this subsection, the later time would fall after the relevant time, the chargeable gain shall be treated as accruing immediately before the relevant time,
unless the new assets are excepted from the application of this subsection by subsection (8).
(8)If at the time when the new assets are acquired –
(a)the trustees carry on a trade in the State through a branch or agency, and
(b)any new assets, which immediately after the relevant time, are situated in the State and either used in or for the purposes of the trade or used or held for the purposes of the branch or agency,
the assets falling within paragraph (b) shall be excepted from the application of subsection (7).
(9)The trustees to whom this section applies may elect to pay capital gains tax in 6 equal instalments at yearly intervals, the first instalment of which shall be due and payable on 31 October in the year following the year in which there is deemed to have occurred, by virtue of subsection (3), the disposal and reacquisition by them of the defined assets, and the remaining instalments shall be due and payable respectively on 31 October in each of the years following the year in which the first instalment became due and payable.
579C.
Death of trustee: special rules.
(1)Subsection (2) applies where –
(a)section 579B applies as a result of the death of a trustee of a settlement, and
(b)within the period of 6 months beginning with the death, the trustees of the settlement become resident and ordinarily resident in the State.
(2)Section 579B shall apply as if the defined assets were restricted to such assets (if any) as –
(a)would be defined assets apart from this section, and
(b)fall within subsection (3).
(3)Assets fall within this subsection if they were disposed of by the trustees in the period which –
(a)begins with the death, and
(b)ends when the trustees become resident and ordinarily resident in the State.
(4)Where –
(a)at any time the trustees of a settlement become resident and ordinarily resident in the State as a result of the death of a trustee of the settlement, and
(b)section 579B applies as regards the trustees of the settlement in circumstances where the relevant time (within the meaning of that section) falls within the period of 6 months beginning with the death,
that section shall apply as if the defined assets were restricted to such assets (if any) –
(i)as would be defined assets but for this section, and
(ii)which the trustees acquired in the period beginning with the death and ending with the relevant time.
579D.
Past trustees: liability for tax.
(1)In this section ‘specified period’, in relation to a year of assessment, means the period beginning with the specified return date for the year of assessment (within the meaning of section 959A) and ending 3 years after the time when a return under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for the chargeable period is delivered to the Collector-General.
(2)For the purposes of this section –
(a)where the relevant time (within the meaning of section 579B) falls within the period of 12 months beginning with the 11th day of February, 1999, the relevant period is the period beginning with that day and ending with the relevant time, and
(b)in any other case, the relevant period is the period of 12 months ending with the relevant time.
(3)This section shall apply at any time on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, where –
(a)section 579B applies as regards the trustees (in this section referred to as ‘migrating trustees’) of a settlement, and
(b)any tax, which is payable by the migrating trustees in respect of a chargeable gain accruing to them for a year of assessment (in this section referred to as ‘the year of assessment concerned’) by virtue of section 579B(3), is not paid within 6 months after the date on or before which the tax is due and payable.
(4)The Revenue Commissioners may, at any time before the end of the specified period in relation to the year of assessment concerned, serve on any person to whom subsection (5) applies, a notice –
(a)stating the amount which remains unpaid of the tax payable by the migrating trustees for the year of assessment concerned, and
(b)requiring that person to pay that amount within 30 days of the service of the notice.
(5)This subsection applies to any person who, at any time within the relevant period, was a trustee of the settlement, other than such a person who –
(a)ceased to be a trustee of the settlement before the end of the relevant period, and
(b)shows that, when he or she (or in the case of a company, the company) ceased to be a trustee of the settlement, there was no proposal that the trustees might become neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State.
(6)Any amount which a person is required to pay by a notice under this section –
(a)may be recovered by that person from the migrating trustees,
(b)shall not be allowed as a deduction in computing income, profits, gains or losses for any tax purposes, and
(c)may be recovered from that person as if it were tax due by such person.
579E.
Trustees ceasing to be liable to Irish tax.
(1)This section shall apply where the trustees of a settlement, while continuing to be resident and ordinarily resident in the State, become at any time (in this section referred to as ‘the time concerned’) on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, trustees who fall to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements –
(a)as resident in a territory outside the State, and
(b)as not liable in the State to tax on gains accruing on disposals of assets (in this section referred to as ‘relevant assets’) which constitute settled property of the settlement and fall within descriptions specified in the arrangements.
(2)The trustees shall be deemed for all the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts –
(a)to have disposed of their relevant assets immediately before the time concerned, and
(b)immediately to have reacquired them,
at their market value at that time.
(3)Notwithstanding anything in that section –
(a)section 597 shall not apply where –
(i)the new assets are, or an interest in them is, acquired by the trustees of a settlement,
(ii)at the time of the acquisition the trustees are resident and ordinarily resident in the State and fall to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements as resident in a territory outside the State,
(iii)the assets are of a description specified in those arrangements, and
(iv)the trustees would, were they to dispose of the assets immediately after the acquisition, fall to be regarded for the purposes of the arrangements as not being liable in the State to tax on gains accruing to them on the disposal,
and
(b)where under section 597 a chargeable gain accruing on a disposal of the old assets is treated as not accruing until a time later (being the time that the new assets cease to be used for the purposes of a trade or other purposes as set out in subsection (2) of that section) than the time of the disposal, and but for this paragraph, the latter time would fall after the time concerned, the chargeable gain shall be treated as accruing immediately before the time concerned, if –
(i)the new assets are of a description specified in any arrangements, and
(ii)the trustees would, were they to dispose of the new assets immediately after the time concerned, fall to be regarded for the purposes of those arrangements as not being liable in the State to tax on gains accruing to them on the disposal.
579F.
Migrant settlements.
(1)Where a period (in this section referred to as ‘a non-resident period’) of one or more years of assessment for which section 579A applies to a settlement, succeeds a period (in this section referred to as ‘a resident period’) of one or more years of assessment for each of which section 579A does not apply to the settlement, a capital payment received by a beneficiary in the resident period shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 579A if it was not made in anticipation of a disposal made by the trustees in the non-resident period.
(2)Where –
(a)a non-resident period is succeeded by a resident period, and
(b)the trust gains for the last year of assessment of the non-resident period are not, or not wholly, treated as chargeable gains accruing to beneficiaries, then, subject to subsection (3), those trust gains, or the outstanding part of them, shall be treated as chargeable gains accruing in the first year of assessment of the resident period, to beneficiaries of the settlement who receive capital payments from the trustees in that year of assessment, and so on for the second and subsequent years until the amount treated as accruing to the beneficiaries is equal to the amount of the trust gains for the last year of assessment of the non-resident period.
(3)Subsections (5) and (7) of section 579A shall apply in relation to subsection (2) as they apply in relation to subsection (4) of that section.
613.
Miscellaneous exemptions for certain kinds of property.
(1)The following shall not be chargeable gains –
(a)any bonus payable under an instalment saving scheme within the meaning of section 53 of the Finance Act, 1970;
(b)any prize under section 22 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1956;
(c)any sum obtained by means of compensation or damages for any wrong or injury suffered by an individual in his or her person or in his or her profession;
(ca)any sum obtained by means of compensation under the 2017 Voluntary Homeowners Relocation Scheme administered by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland under section 2 of the Commissioners of Public Works (Functions and Powers) Act 1996;
(d)any payment to which section 205A applies.
(2)Winnings from betting (including pool betting), lotteries, sweepstakes or games with prizes shall not be chargeable gains, and rights to winnings obtained by participating in any pool betting, lottery, sweepstake or game with prizes shall not be chargeable assets.
(3)No chargeable gain shall accrue on the disposal of a right to or to any part of –
(a)any allowance, annuity or capital sum payable out of any superannuation fund, or under any superannuation scheme, established solely or mainly for persons employed in a profession, trade, undertaking or employment, and their dependants,
(b)an annuity granted otherwise than under a contract for a deferred annuity by a company as part of its business of granting annuities on human life, whether or not including instalments of capital, or
(c)annual payments due under a covenant made by any person and not secured on any property.
(4)
(a)Subject to subsection (5), no chargeable gain shall accrue on the disposal of an interest created by or arising under a settlement (including in particular an annuity or life interest and the reversion to an annuity or life interest) –
(i)by the person for whose benefit the interest was created by the terms of the settlement, or
(ii)by any other person except one who acquired, or derives that person’s title from one who acquired, the interest for a consideration in money or money’s worth, other than consideration consisting of another interest under the settlement.
(b)Subject to paragraph (a), where a person who has acquired an interest in settled property (including in particular the reversion to an annuity or life interest) becomes as the holder of that interest absolutely entitled as against the trustee to any settled property, the person shall be treated as disposing of the interest in consideration of obtaining that settled property, but without prejudice to any gain accruing to the trustee on the disposal of that property deemed to be effected by the trustee under section 576(1).
(5)Subsection (4)(a) shall not apply –
(a)to the disposal of an interest in settled property, other than such a disposal treated under subsection (4)(b) as made in consideration of obtaining the settled property, if at the time of the disposal the trustees are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State,
(b)if the settlement falls within subsection (6), or
(c)the property comprised in the settlement is or includes property that is derived directly or indirectly from a settlement falling within subsection (6).
(6)
(a)In this subsection ‘arrangements’ means arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1) (as extended to capital gains tax by section 828).
(b)A settlement falls within this subsection if there has been a time when the trustees of the settlement –
(i)were neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State, or
(ii)fell to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements as resident in a territory outside the State.
(7)
(a)No chargeable gain shall arise on the receipt of an amount of compensation in money or money’s worth under the Cessation of Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme or the Protected Raised Bog Restoration Incentive Scheme administered by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, relating to –
(i)a European Site (within the meaning of Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011)) that contains raised bog,
(ii)a Natural Heritage Area (within the meaning of section 2 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (No. 39 of 1976)) that contains raised bog, or
(iii)any other lands which, in the opinion of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, are necessary to achieve the restoration of a European Site or Natural Heritage Area, referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii).
(aa)No chargeable gain shall arise on a disposal of land (including a right of turbary) to the Minister referred to in paragraph (a) where that land has been acquired by that Minister for the purposes of granting a right of turbary to an individual who –
(i)is entitled to compensation under the scheme referred to in paragraph (a), and
(ii)enters into an agreement with that Minister in respect of that land (or any estate, right or interest in or over that land).
(b)Any amount paid under the Protected Raised Bog Restoration Incentive Scheme for the voluntary purchase of land or under a management agreement within the meaning of Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 shall be deemed to be an amount of compensation for the purposes of paragraph (a).
613A. Supplementary provisions.
(1)Subject to this section, subsection (2) shall apply where –
(a)section 579B applies as regards the trustees of a settlement,
(b)after the relevant time (within the meaning of that section) a person disposes of an interest created by or arising under the settlement and the circumstances are such that subsection (4)(a) of section 613 does not apply by virtue of subsection (5)(a) of that section, and
(c)the interest was created for the benefit of the person making the disposal or that person otherwise acquired it, before the relevant time.
(2)For the purposes of calculating any chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the interest, the person disposing of it shall be treated as having –
(a)disposed of it immediately before the relevant time, and
(b)immediately reacquired it,
at its market value at that time.
(3)Subsection (2) shall not apply if section 579E applied as regards the trustees in circumstances where the time concerned (within the meaning of that section) fell before the time when the interest was created for the benefit of the person disposing of it or when the person otherwise acquired it.
(4)Subsection (6) applies where –
(a)section 579B applies as regards the trustees of a settlement,
(b)after the relevant time (within the meaning of that section) a person disposes of an interest created by or arising under the settlement and the circumstances are such that subsection (4)(a) of section 613 does not apply by virtue of subsection (5)(a) of that section,
(c)the interest was created for the person’s benefit, or the person otherwise acquired it, before the relevant time, and
(d)section 579E applied as regards the trustees in circumstances where the time concerned (within the meaning of that section) fell in the relevant period.
(5)The relevant period is the period which –
(a)begins when the interest was created for the benefit of the person disposing of it or when the person otherwise acquired it, and
(b)ends with the relevant time.
(6)For the purposes of calculating any chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the interest, the person disposing of it shall be treated as having –
(a)disposed of it immediately before the time determined in accordance with subsection (7), and
(b)immediately reacquired it,
at its market value at that time.
(7)The time mentioned in subsection (6) is –
(a)where there is only one such time, the time concerned, or
(b)where there is more than one time concerned, because section 579E applied more than once, the earliest time concerned.
(8)Where subsection (2) applies, subsection (6) shall not apply.