Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

162 Employee shareholdings

(1) Where—

(a) a person employed or about to be employed in director’s or higher-paid employment (“the employee”), or a person connected with him, acquires shares in a company (whether the employing company or not); and

(b) the shares are acquired at an under-value in pursuance of a right or opportunity available by reason of his employment,

section 160(1) and Schedule 7 apply as if the employee had the benefit of an interest-free loan obtained by reason of his employment (“the notional loan”).

(2) The provisions of this section have effect subject to sections 185 and 186; and in this section—

(a) references to shares being acquired at an under-value are references to shares being acquired either without payment for them at the time or being acquired for an amount then paid which is less than the market value of fully paid up shares of that class (in either case with or without obligation to make payment or further payment at some later time); and

(b) any reference, in relation to any shares, to the under-value on acquisition is a reference to the market value of fully paid up shares of that class less any payment then made for the shares.

(3) The amount initially outstanding of the notional loan is so much of the under-value on acquisition as is not chargeable to tax as an emolument of the employee; and—

(a) the loan remains outstanding until terminated under subsection (4) below; and

(b) payments or further payments made for the shares after the initial acquisition go to reduce the amount outstanding of the notional loan.

(4) The notional loan terminates on the occurrence of any of the following events—

(a) the whole amount of it outstanding is made good by means of payments or further payments made for the shares; or

(b) the case being one in which the shares were not at the time of acquisition fully paid up, any outstanding or contingent obligation to pay for them is released, transferred or adjusted so as no longer to bind the employee or any person connected with him; or

(c) the shares are so disposed of by surrender or otherwise that neither he nor any such person any longer has a beneficial interest in the shares; or

(d) the employee dies.

(5) If the notional loan terminates as mentioned in subsection (4)(b) or (c) above, there is then for the year in which the event in question occurs the same charge to income tax on the employee, under section 160(2), as if an amount equal to the then outstanding amount of the notional loan had been released or written off from a loan within that section.

(6) Where after 6th April 1976 shares are acquired, whether or not at an under-value but otherwise as mentioned in subsection (1) above, and—

(a) the shares are subsequently disposed of by surrender or otherwise so that neither the employee nor any person connected with him any longer has a beneficial interest in them; and

(b) the disposal is for a consideration which exceeds the then market value of the shares,

then for the year in which the disposal is effected the amount of the excess is treated as emoluments of the employee’s employment and accordingly chargeable to income tax under Schedule E.

(7) If at the time of the event giving rise to a charge in relation to any shares by virtue of subsection (5) or (6) above the employee has ceased to be in the director’s or higher-paid employment by virtue of which he is the employee for the purposes of this section in relation to those shares, those subsections shall apply as if he had not so ceased.

(8) No charge arises under subsection (6) above by reference to any disposal effected after the death of the employee, whether by his personal representatives or otherwise.

(9) This section applies in relation to acquisition and disposal of an interest in shares less than full beneficial ownership (including an interest in the proceeds of sale of part of the shares but not including a share option) as it applies in relation to the acquisition and disposal of shares, subject to the following modifications—

(a) for references to the shares acquired there shall be substituted references to the interest in shares acquired;

(b) for the reference to the market value of the shares acquired there shall be substituted a reference to the proportion corresponding to the size of the interest of the market value of the shares in which the interest subsists;

(c) for the reference to shares of the same class as those acquired there shall be substituted a reference to shares of the same class as those in which the interest subsists; and

(d) for the reference to the market value of fully paid up shares of that class there shall be substituted a reference to the proportion of that value corresponding to the size of the interest.

(10) In this section—

(a) “shares” includes stock and also includes securities as defined in section 254(1);

(b) “acquisition” in relation to shares includes receipt by way of allotment or assignment or otherwise howsoever;

(c) any reference to payment for shares includes giving any consideration in money or money’s worth or making any subscription, whether in pursuance of a legal liability or not;

(d) “market value” has the same meaning as, for the purposes of the 1979 Act, it has by virtue of section 150 of that Act;

and section 839 applies for the purposes of this section.

(11) This section, in respect of any shares or any interest in shares, operates only to include an amount in emoluments so far as any amount corresponding to it, and representing the same benefit, does not otherwise fall to be so included under the Tax Acts.