Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

12 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, in paragraphs 6 and 8(3) above and sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) below “holding company” means—

(a) a company the business of which consists wholly or mainly in the holding of shares or securities of companies which are either local holding companies and its 90 per cent. subsidiaries or trading companies and either its 51 per cent. subsidiaries or companies falling within paragraph 6(5) above; or

(b) a company which would fall within paragraph (a) above if there were disregarded so much of its business as consists in the holding of property or rights of any description for use wholly or mainly by companies which it controls and which are resident in the territory in which it is resident.

(2) In determining whether a company is a holding company for the purposes of paragraph 6(3) above (and, accordingly, whether the company is or may be a local holding company), sub-paragraph (1) above shall have effect with the omission from paragraph (a) thereof of the words “either local holding companies and its 90 per cent. subsidiaries or”.

(3) In its application for the purposes of this paragraph, section 838 shall have effect with the omission of—

(a) in subsection (1)(a), the words “or indirectly”; and

(b) subsection (2).

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) or (4), as the case may be, of paragraph 6 above, as it applies in relation to a holding company part of whose business consists of activities other than the holding of shares or securities or the holding of property or rights as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-paragraph (1) above, the company’s gross income during any accounting period shall be determined as follows—

(a) there shall be left out of account so much of what would otherwise be the company’s gross income as is derived from any activity which, if it were the business in which the company is mainly engaged, would be such that paragraph 6(2) above would apply to the company; and

(b) to the extent that the receipts of the company from any other activity include receipts from the proceeds of sale of any description of property or rights, the cost to the company of the purchase of that property or those rights shall (to the extent that the cost does not exceed the receipts) be a deduction in calculating the company’s gross income, and no other deduction shall be made in respect of that activity.

(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) of paragraph 6 above, so much of the income of a holding company as—

(a) is derived directly from another company which it controls and which is not a holding company but otherwise is, in terms of this Schedule, engaged in exempt activities, and

(b) was or could have been paid out of any non-trading income of that other company which is derived directly or indirectly from a third company connected or associated with it,

shall be treated, in relation to the holding company, as if it were not derived directly from companies which it controls.

(6) The reference in sub-paragraph (5) above to the non-trading income of a company is a reference to so much of its income as, if the company were carrying on its trade in the United Kingdom, would not be within the charge to corporation tax under Case I of Schedule D.