Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

472 Distribution of securities issued in connection with nationalisation etc

(1) Where—

(a) in pursuance of any enactment passed after 5th April 1946 any securities are issued to any body corporate as, or as part of, the consideration for the compulsory acquisition of any property under that enactment; and

(b) that body corporate is wound up or the capital thereof is reduced or any bonds, debentures or debenture stock thereof are redeemed, and, in or in connection with the winding up, reduction of capital or redemption, all or any of the securities so issued are distributed to holders of securities of the body corporate (“the distributed securities”); and

(c) the Treasury direct that this section shall apply in relation to the distribution,

any person (“the dealer”) who is carrying on a trade which consists wholly or partly in dealing in securities and is beneficially entitled to any securities (“the relevant securities”) to the holders of which the distribution is made shall, in relation to that distribution, be treated for tax purposes in the manner specified in subsections (2) and (3) below, unless he gives notice to the inspector not later than two years after the end of the chargeable period in which the distribution takes place that he desires not to be so treated in relation to that distribution.

(2) If the result of the winding up, reduction of capital or redemption of bonds, debentures or debenture stock is that the relevant securities to which the dealer is beneficially entitled are wholly extinguished without his receiving anything in respect thereof except the distributed securities, he shall be treated for tax purposes (except as regards any tax payable in respect of dividends or interest), both then and thereafter, as if neither the extinction nor the distribution had taken place but as if the produce of any subsequent realisation of any of the distributed securities were the produce of the realisation of the relevant securities or a corresponding part thereof, as the case may be.

(3) In any other case—

(a) the dealer shall be treated as having acquired the distributed securities at a cost equal to such proportion of the cost to him of the relevant securities as may be specified in the direction of the Treasury referred to in subsection (1) above and the question whether he has made any, and if so what, profit or suffered any, and if so what, loss on any subsequent realisation of the distributed securities shall be determined accordingly; and

(b) in considering whether he has, either as the result of the winding up, reduction of capital or redemption of bonds, debentures or debenture stock and the distribution of the securities, or on any subsequent realisation of any of the relevant securities, made any, and if so what, profit or suffered any, and if so what, loss in connection with the relevant securities, the distributed securities shall be left out of account and the cost to him of the relevant securities shall be deemed to be reduced by the amount of the cost at which, under paragraph (a) above, he is taken to have acquired the distributed securities.

(4) In this section “securities” includes shares, stock, bonds, debentures and debenture stock.