Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970

Reorganisation or reduction of share capital

12 (1) This paragraph shall apply in relation to any reorganisation or reduction of a company's share capital; and for the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) references to a reorganisation of a company's share capital include—

(i) 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 (a) their holdings of shares in the company or of any class of shares in the company, and

(ii) any case where there are more than one class of share and the rights attached to shares of any class are altered, and

(b) " original shares " means shares held before and concerned in the reorganisation or reduction of capital, and " new holding" means, in relation to any original shares, 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).

(2) Subject to the following sub-paragraphs, 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 and the new holding shall be treated as the same asset acquired as the original shares were acquired.

(3) Where, on a reorganisation or reduction of a company's share capital, a person gives or becomes liable to give any consideration for his new holding or any part of it, that consideration shall, in relation to any disposal of the new holding or any part of it, be treated as having been given for the original shares, 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:

Provided that there shall not be treated as consideration given for the new holding or any part of it any surrender, cancellation or other alteration of the original shares or of the rights attached thereto, or any consideration consisting of any application in paying up the new holding or any part of it of assets of the company or of any dividend or other distribution declared out of those assets but not made.

Notwithstanding the above proviso, in applying this sub-paragraph in relation to the issue of share capital to which subsection (1) of section 236 of this Act (stock dividend options) applies (as involving a reorganisation of the company's share capital) there shall be allowed, as consideration given for the new holding which includes that share capital, the sum referred to in that subsection less income tax at the standard rate.

(4) Where, on a reorganisation or reduction of a company's share capital, a person receives or becomes entitled to receive in respect of his original shares any capital distribution from the company not forming part of the new holding, he shall be treated as if the new holding resulted from his having, in consideration of that distribution, disposed of an interest in the original shares of a market value equal to that of the distribution (but without prejudice to the original shares and the new holding being treated in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) above as the same asset).

References in this sub-paragraph to any capital distribution from the company include references to any consideration given by any person other than the company in respect of the original shares.

(5) Subject to paragraph 13 below, 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 what is disposed of and what 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 thereto but forming part of the cost to be apportioned); and any corresponding apportionment for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) above shall be made in like manner.

(6) Where, on a reorganisation of a company's share capital, a person receives, or becomes entitled to receive, in respect of any shares a provisional allotment of shares in or debentures of the company, then, unless he neither accepts the allotment nor disposes of his rights before or after the making of the allotment, those rights shall be treated in relation to him and any person acquiring them directly or indirectly from him as if they were the shares or debentures to which they relate, and as if the consideration to be given for the shares or debentures were a liability attaching to the rights.

(7) References in this paragraph to a reduction of share capital do not include the paying off of redeemable share capital, and where shares in a company are redeemed by a 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.

13 (1) This paragraph applies to a new holding, as defined in paragraph 12(1)(b) above—

(a) if it 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 three months beginning with the date on which the reorganisation or reduction of capital took effect, or of such longer period as the Board may by notice in writing allow, had quoted market values on a recognised stock exchange in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or

(b) (in a case where the operation of that paragraph is extended by section 167(3) of this Act) if it 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 daily by the managers of the scheme at any time not later than the end of that period of three months (or longer if so allowed).

(2) 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 to which this paragraph applies, it is necessary to apportion costs of acquisition between what is disposed of and what is retained, 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 as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) or (1)(b) above (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 this sub-paragraph shall have effect notwithstanding sub-paragraph (5) of the said paragraph 12.

(3) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall have effect as if contained in the said paragraph 12.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph, the day on which a reorganisation of share capital involving the allotment of shares or debentures or unit holders' rights takes effect is the day following the day on which the right to renounce any allotment expires.