Finance Act 1998

4 U.K. For section 749 of the Taxes Act 1988 (residence and interest) there shall be substituted—

“749 Residence.

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) and (6) below, in any accounting period in which a company is resident outside the United Kingdom, it shall be regarded for the purposes of this Chapter as resident in that territory in which, throughout that period, it is liable to tax by reason of domicile, residence or place of management.

(2) If, in the case of any company,—

(a) there are in any accounting period two or more territories falling within subsection (1) above, and

(b) no election or designation made under paragraph (d) or (e) of subsection (3) below in relation to an earlier accounting period of the company has effect by virtue of section 749A(1) in relation to that accounting period,

subsection (3) below shall apply with respect to that company and that accounting period.

(3) Where this subsection applies, the company shall in that accounting period be regarded for the purposes of this Chapter as resident in only one of those territories, namely—

(a) if, throughout the accounting period, the company’s place of effective management is situated in one of those territories only, in that territory;

(b) if, throughout the accounting period, the company’s place of effective management is situated in two or more of those territories, in that one of them in which, at the end of the accounting period, the greater amount of the company’s assets is situated;

(c) if neither paragraph (a) nor paragraph (b) above applies, in that one of the territories falling within subsection (1) above in which, at the end of the accounting period, the greater amount of the company’s assets is situated;

(d) if—

(i) paragraph (a) above does not apply, and

(ii) neither paragraph (b) nor paragraph (c) above produces one, and only one, of those territories,

in that one of them (if any) which is specified in an election made in relation to that accounting period by any one or more persons who together have a majority assessable interest in the company in that accounting period; and

(e) if, in a case falling within paragraph (d) above, the time by which any election under that paragraph in relation to that accounting period must be made in accordance with section 749A(3)(b) expires without such an election having been made, in that one of those territories which the Board justly and reasonably designates in relation to that accounting period.

(4) If, in the case of any company,—

(a) there are in any accounting period two or more territories falling within subsection (1) above, and

(b) an election or designation made under paragraph (d) or (e) of subsection (3) above in relation to an earlier accounting period of the company has effect by virtue of section 749A(1) in relation to the accounting period mentioned in paragraph (a) above,

the company shall in that accounting period be regarded for the purposes of this Chapter as resident in that one of those territories which is the subject of the election or designation.

(5) If, in the case of any company, there is in any accounting period no territory falling within subsection (1) above, then, for the purposes of this Chapter, it shall be conclusively presumed that the company is in that accounting period resident in a territory in which it is subject to a lower level of taxation.

(6) In any case where it becomes necessary for the purposes of subsection (3) above to determine in which of two or more territories the greater amount of a company’s assets is situated at the end of an accounting period—

(a) account shall be taken only of those assets which, immediately before the end of that period, are situated in those territories; and

(b) the amount of them shall be determined by reference to their market value at that time.

(7) This section is without prejudice to the provision that may be made in regulations under section 748(1)(e).

(8) For the purposes of this section, one or more persons together have a “majority assessable interest" in a controlled foreign company in an accounting period of the company if—

(a) each of them has an assessable interest in the company in that accounting period; and

(b) it is likely that, were an apportionment of the chargeable profits of the company for that accounting period made under section 747(3), the aggregate of the amounts which would be apportioned to them is greater than 50 per cent. of the aggregate of the amounts which would be apportioned to all the persons who have an assessable interest in the company in that accounting period.

(9) For the purposes of subsection (8) above, a person has an “assessable interest" in a controlled foreign company in an accounting period of the company if he is one of the persons who it is likely would be chargeable to tax under section 747(4)(a) on an apportionment of the chargeable profits and creditable tax (if any) of the company for that accounting period under section 747(3).

749A Elections and designations under section 749: supplementary provisions.

(1) An election under paragraph (d) or a designation under paragraph (e) of section 749(3) shall have effect in relation to—

(a) the accounting period in relation to which it is made (“the original accounting period"), and

(b) each successive accounting period of the controlled foreign company in question which precedes the next one in which the eligible territories are different,

and shall so have effect notwithstanding any change in the persons who have interests in the company or any change in the interests which those persons have in the company.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above, an accounting period of the controlled foreign company is one in which the eligible territories are different if in the case of that accounting period—

(a) at least one of the two or more territories which fell within subsection (1) of section 749 in the original accounting period does not fall within that subsection; or

(b) some other territory also falls within that subsection.

(3) Any election under section 749(3)(d)—

(a) must be made by notice given to an officer of the Board;

(b) must be made no later than twelve months after the end of the controlled foreign company’s accounting period in relation to which it is made;

(c) must state, as respects each of the persons making it, the percentage of the chargeable profits and creditable tax (if any) of the controlled foreign company for that accounting period which it is likely would be apportioned to him on an apportionment under section 747(3) if one were made;

(d) must be signed by the persons making it; and

(e) is irrevocable.

(4) Nothing in—

(a) paragraph 10 of Schedule 18 to the Finance Act 1998 (claims or elections in company tax returns), or

(b) Schedule 1A to the Management Act (claims or elections not included in returns),

shall apply, whether by virtue of section 754 or otherwise, to an election under section 749(3)(d).

(5) A designation under section 749(3)(e) is irrevocable.

(6) Where the Board make a designation under section 749(3)(e), notice of the making of the designation shall be given to every company resident in the United Kingdom which appears to the Board to have had an assessable interest in the controlled foreign company at any time during the accounting period of the controlled foreign company in relation to which the designation is made.

(7) A notice under subsection (6) above shall specify—

(a) the date on which the designation was made;

(b) the controlled foreign company to which the designation relates;

(c) the accounting period of the controlled foreign company in relation to which the designation is made; and

(d) the territory designated.

(8) Subsection (9) of section 749 has effect for the purposes of subsection (6) above as it has effect for the purposes of subsection (8) of that section.

749B Interests in companies.

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, the following persons have an interest in a company—

(a) any person who possesses, or is entitled to acquire, share capital or voting rights in the company;

(b) any person who possesses, or is entitled to acquire, a right to receive or participate in distributions of the company;

(c) any person who is entitled to secure that income or assets (whether present or future) of the company will be applied directly or indirectly for his benefit; and

(d) any other person who, either alone or together with other persons, has control of the company.

(2) Rights which a person has as a loan creditor of a company do not constitute an interest in the company for the purposes of this Chapter.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above, the definition of “distribution" in Part VI shall be construed without any limitation to companies resident in the United Kingdom.

(4) References in subsection (1) above to being entitled to do anything apply where a person—

(a) is presently entitled to do it at a future date, or

(b) will at a future date be entitled to do it;

but a person whose entitlement to secure that any income or assets of the company will be applied as mentioned in paragraph (c) of that subsection is contingent upon a default of the company or any other person under any agreement shall not be treated as falling within that paragraph unless the default has occurred.

(5) Where a company has an interest in another company and a third person has, or two or more persons together have, an interest in the first company (as in a case where one company has a shareholding in a controlled foreign company and the first company is controlled by a third company or by two or more persons together) subsections (6) and (7) below apply.

(6) Where this subsection applies, the person who has, or each of the persons who together have, the interest in the first company shall be regarded for the purposes of this Chapter as thereby having an interest in the second company.

(7) In any case where this subsection applies, in construing references in this Chapter to one person having the same interest as another, the person or, as the case may be, each of the persons who together have, the interest in the first company shall be treated as having, to the extent of that person’s interest in that company, the same interest as the first company has in the second company.

(8) Where two or more persons jointly have an interest in a company otherwise than in a fiduciary or representative capacity, they shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as having the interest in equal shares.”