Council Directive 2009/133/ECShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. RULES APPLICABLE TO MERGERS, DIVISIONS, PARTIAL DIVISIONS, TO TRANSFERS OF ASSETS AND EXCHANGES OF SHARES

Article 4 U.K.

1. A merger, division or partial division shall not give rise to any taxation of capital gains calculated by reference to the difference between the real values of the assets and liabilities transferred and their values for tax purposes.

2. For the purpose of this Article, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘value for tax purposes’

:

the value on the basis of which any gain or loss would have been computed for the purposes of tax upon the income, profits or capital gains of the transferring company if such assets or liabilities had been sold at the time of the merger, division or partial division but independently of it;

(b) ‘transferred assets and liabilities’

:

those assets and liabilities of the transferring company which, in consequence of the merger, division or partial division, are effectively connected with a permanent establishment of the receiving company in the Member State of the transferring company and play a part in generating the profits or losses taken into account for tax purposes.

3. Where paragraph 1 applies and where a Member State considers a non-resident transferring company as fiscally transparent on the basis of that Member State’s assessment of the legal characteristics of that company arising from the law under which it is constituted and therefore taxes the shareholders on their share of the profits of the transferring company as and when those profits arise, that Member State shall not tax any income, profits or capital gains calculated by reference to the difference between the real values of the assets and liabilities transferred and their values for tax purposes.

4. Paragraphs 1 and 3 shall apply only if the receiving company computes any new depreciation and any gains or losses in respect of the assets and liabilities transferred according to the rules that would have applied to the transferring company or companies if the merger, division or partial division had not taken place.

5. Where, under the laws of the Member State of the transferring company, the receiving company is entitled to have any new depreciation or any gains or losses in respect of the assets and liabilities transferred computed on a basis different from that set out in paragraph 4, paragraph 1 shall not apply to the assets and liabilities in respect of which that option is exercised.

Article 5 U.K.

The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, where provisions or reserves properly constituted by the transferring company are partly or wholly exempt from tax and are not derived from permanent establishments abroad, such provisions or reserves may be carried over, with the same tax exemption, by the permanent establishments of the receiving company which are situated in the Member State of the transferring company, the receiving company thereby assuming the rights and obligations of the transferring company.

Article 6 U.K.

To the extent that, if the operations referred to in Article 1(a) were effected between companies from the Member State of the transferring company, the Member State would apply provisions allowing the receiving company to takeover the losses of the transferring company which had not yet been exhausted for tax purposes, it shall extend those provisions to cover the takeover of such losses by the receiving company’s permanent establishments situated within its territory.

Article 7 U.K.

1. Where the receiving company has a holding in the capital of the transferring company, any gains accruing to the receiving company on the cancellation of its holding shall not be liable to any taxation.

2. The Member States may derogate from paragraph 1 where the receiving company has a holding of less than 15 % in the capital of the transferring company.

From 1 January 2009 the minimum holding percentage shall be 10 %.

Article 8 U.K.

1. On a merger, division or exchange of shares, the allotment of securities representing the capital of the receiving or acquiring company to a shareholder of the transferring or acquired company in exchange for securities representing the capital of the latter company shall not, of itself, give rise to any taxation of the income, profits or capital gains of that shareholder.

2. On a partial division, the allotment to a shareholder of the transferring company of securities representing the capital of the receiving company shall not, of itself, give rise to any taxation of the income, profits or capital gains of that shareholder.

3. Where a Member State considers a shareholder as fiscally transparent on the basis of that Member State’s assessment of the legal characteristics of that shareholder arising from the law under which it is constituted and therefore taxes those persons having an interest in the shareholder on their share of the profits of the shareholder as and when those profits arise, that Member State shall not tax those persons on income, profits or capital gains from the allotment of securities representing the capital of the receiving or acquiring company to the shareholder.

4. Paragraphs 1 and 3 shall apply only if the shareholder does not attribute to the securities received a value for tax purposes higher than the value the securities exchanged had immediately before the merger, division or exchange of shares.

5. Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply only if the shareholder does not attribute to the sum of the securities received and those held in the transferring company, a value for tax purposes higher than the value the securities held in the transferring company had immediately before the partial division.

6. The application of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not prevent the Member States from taxing the gain arising out of the subsequent transfer of securities received in the same way as the gain arising out of the transfer of securities existing before the acquisition.

7. For the purpose of this Article, ‘value for tax purposes’ shall mean the value on the basis of which any gain or loss would be computed for the purposes of tax upon the income, profits or capital gains of a shareholder of the company.

8. Where, under the law of the Member State in which he is resident, a shareholder may opt for tax treatment different from that set out in paragraphs 4 and 5, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply to the securities in respect of which such an option is exercised.

9. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not prevent a Member State from taking into account when taxing shareholders any cash payment that may be made on the merger, division, partial division or exchange of shares.

Article 9 U.K.

Articles 4, 5 and 6 shall apply to transfers of assets.