Part I

Contributions

Preliminary

Earnings: power to make retrospective provision in consequence of retrospective tax legislation
4B
1
This section applies where—
a
a provision of the Income Tax Acts which relates to income tax chargeable under the employment income Parts of ITEPA 2003 is passed or made so as to have retrospective effect (“
the retrospective tax provision
”), and
b
it appears to the Treasury to be appropriate to make regulations under a relevant power for the purpose of reflecting the whole or part of the provision made by the retrospective tax provision.
2
Those regulations may be made so as to have retrospective effect if it appears to the Treasury to be expedient, in consequence of the retrospective tax provision, for the regulations to have that effect.
3
A “
relevant power
” means a power to make regulations under any of the following provisions—
a
section 3 (power to prescribe the manner and basis of the calculation or estimation of earnings);
b
section 4(6)
(power to treat amounts chargeable to income tax under the employment income Parts of ITEPA 2003 as earnings);
c
section 4A (power to treat payments or benefits to workers supplied by service companies etc as earnings);
d
section 4AA (power to make provision in relation to limited liability partnerships).
4
It does not matter whether the retrospective tax provision in question was passed or made before the day on which the National Insurance Contributions Act 2006 was passed.
5
But nothing in subsection (2) authorises regulations to be made which have effect in relation to any time before 2nd December 2004.
6
Regulations under a relevant power made by virtue of subsection (2) may affect, for the purposes of any contributions legislation for the purposes of which the regulations are made, the earnings in respect of an employment paid to or for the benefit of an earner at a time before the regulations are made.
7
In such a case, subsections (8) and (9) apply and in those subsections and this subsection—
- “
relevant contributions legislation
” means any contributions legislation for the purposes of which the regulations have the effect mentioned in subsection (6);
- “
the relevant time
” means the time before the regulations are made mentioned in that subsection;
- “
the revised earnings
” means the earnings, in respect of the employment, paid to or for the benefit of the earner at the relevant time as determined after applying the regulations.
8
References in any relevant contributions legislation, or any provision made under any such legislation, which relate to—
a
the earnings, in respect of the employment, paid to or for the benefit of the earner at the relevant time, or
b
the amount of such earnings so paid at that time,
are to be read, in so far as they so relate, as references which relate to the revised earnings or, as the case may be, the amount of those earnings.
9
Any matter which, at the time when the regulations are made, has been determined for the purposes of any relevant contributions legislation, or any provision made under any such legislation, wholly or partly by reference to—
a
the earnings, in respect of the employment, paid to or for the benefit of the earner at the relevant time, or
b
the amount of such earnings so paid at that time,
is to be redetermined as it would have been determined at the time of the original determination if it had been determined wholly or partly, as the case may be, by reference to the revised earnings or the amount of those earnings.
10
The matters referred to in subsection (9) may include—
a
whether Class 1 contributions are payable in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of the earner in a tax week, and
b
the amount of any such contribution.
11
Subsections (7) to (10) are subject to any express provision to the contrary (including any such provision made by regulations under section 4C(1)).
12
The power conferred by subsection (2) is without prejudice to any powers conferred by or by virtue of any other provision of this Act or of any other enactment.
13
For the purposes of this section—
- “
contributions legislation
” means any Part of this Act or provision of such a Part;
- “
enactment
” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of section 4C.
Pt. I (ss. 1-19): power to modify conferred (7.2.1994) by 1993 c. 49, s. 35, Sch. 1 Pt. I para. 5(3)(d); S.R. 1994/17, art. 2
Pt. I (ss. 1-19) amended (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 3(1)(7); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2
Ss. 4B, 4C inserted (30.3.2006) by National Insurance Contributions Act 2006 (c. 10), ss. 2(1), 9
Pt. 1 modified (5.10.2009) by The Steps to Work (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/297), arts. 1(1), 2(1)(a)
Pt. 1 modified (6.4.2022 for the tax year 2022-23) by Health and Social Care Levy (Repeal) Act 2022 (c. 43), s. 2(3) (with Sch. para. 8)
S. 4B(3)(d) inserted (13.3.2014) by National Insurance Contributions Act 2014 (c. 7), s. 14(7)
Pt. 1 modified (6.4.2022 for the tax year 2022-23) by Health and Social Care Levy (Repeal) Act 2022 (c. 43), Sch. para. 5(1)(2)(4) (with Sch. para. 8)
Pt. 1 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2023 for the tax year 2023-24) by National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Act 2023 (c. 57), Sch. para. 1(1)(2)(4)