Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975

Settled property.

15.—(1) In relation to settled property, the trustees of the settlement shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as being a single and continuing body of persons (distinct from the persons who may from time to time be the trustees), and that body shall be treated as being resident and ordinarily resident in the State unless the general administration of the trusts is ordinarily carried on outside the State and the trustees or a majority of them for the time being are not resident or not ordinarily resident in the State:

Provided that a person carrying on a business which consists of or includes the management of trusts, and acting as trustees of a trust in the course of that business, shall be treated in relation to that trust as not resident in the State if the whole of the settled property consists of or derives from property provided by a person not at the time (or, in the case of a trust arising under a testamentary disposition or on an intestacy or partial intestacy, at his death) domiciled, resident or ordinarily resident in the State and if in such a case the trustees or a majority of them are or are treated in relation to that trust as not resident in the State, the general administration of the trust shall be treated as ordinarily carried on outside the State.

(2) A gift in settlement, whether revocable or irrevocable, shall be a disposal of the entire property thereby becoming settled property notwithstanding that the donor has some interest as a beneficiary under the settlement and notwithstanding that he is a trustee, or the sole trustee of the settlement.

(3) On the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to any settled property as against the trustee all the assets forming part of the settled property to which he becomes so entitled shall be deemed to have been disposed of by the trustee, and immediately re-acquired by him in his capacity as a trustee within section 8 (3), for a consideration equal to their market value.

(4) Where, by virtue of subsection (3), the assets forming part of any settled property are deemed to be disposed of and re-acquired by the trustee on the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled thereto as against the trustee, then, if that occasion is the termination of a life interest (within the meaning of this section) by the death of the person entitled to that interest—

(a) no chargeable gain shall accrue on the disposal; and

(b) the disposal and re-acquisition under that subsection shall be deemed to be for such consideration as to secure that neither a gain nor a loss accrues to the trustee, and shall, except where, at any time previously, those assets, while forming part of that settled property, were, by virtue of subsection (5), deemed to be disposed of and immediately re-acquired for a consideration equal to the whole or a corresponding part of the market value of the asset, if the trustee had first acquired the property at a date earlier than the 6th day of April, 1974, be deemed to be at that earlier date.

(5) On the termination at any time on or after the 6th day of April, 1974, of a life interest in possession in all or any part of settled property, the whole or a corresponding part of each of the assets forming part of the settled property and not ceasing at that time to be settled property, shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act at that time to be disposed of and immediately re-acquired by the trustee for a consideration equal to the whole or a corresponding part of the market value of the asset.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)—

(a) a life interest which is a right to part of the income of settled property shall be treated as a life interest in a corresponding part of the settled property, and

(b) if there is a life interest in a part of the settled property and, where that interest is a life interest in income, there is no right of recourse to, or to the income of, the remainder of the settled property, the part of the settled property in which the life interest subsists shall while it subsists be treated for the purposes of this subsection as being settled property under a separate settlement.

(7) Subsections (3) and (5) shall apply, where an annuity which is not a life interest within the meaning of this section is terminated by the death of the annuitant, as they apply on the termination of a life interest by the death of the person entitled thereto.

(8) On the occasion when a person becomes absolutely entitled to any settled property as against the trustee, any allowable loss which has accrued to the trustee in respect of property which is, or is represented by, the property to which that person so becomes entitled (including any allowable loss carried forward to the year of assessment in which that occasion falls), being a loss which cannot be deducted from chargeable gains accruing to the trustee in that year, but before that occasion, shall be treated as if it were an allowable loss accruing at that time to the person becoming so entitled, instead of to the trustee.

(9) If any amount of capital gains tax assessed on the trustees, or any one trustee, of a settlement in respect of a chargeable gain accruing to the trustee is not paid within six months from the date when it becomes payable by the trustees or trustee, and before or after the expiration of that period of six months the asset in respect of which the chargeable gain accrued, or any part of the proceeds of sale of that asset, is transferred by the trustees to a person who as against the trustees is absolutely entitled to it, that person may at any time within two years from the time when that amount of tax became payable be assessed and charged (in the name of the trustees) to an amount of capital gains tax not exceeding the amount of capital gains tax chargeable on an amount equal to the amount of the chargeable gain and, where part only of the asset or of the proceeds was transferred, not exceeding a proportionate part of that amount.

(10) References in this Act to any asset held by a person as trustee for another person absolutely entitled as against the trustee are references to a case where that other person has the exclusive right, or would have such a right if he were not an infant or other person under disability, subject only to satisfying any outstanding charge, lien or right of the trustees to resort to the asset for payment of duty, taxes, costs or other outgoings, to direct how that asset shall be dealt with.

(11) For the purposes of this section, where part of the property comprised in a settlement is vested in one trustee or set of trustees and part in another (and in particular where settled land within the meaning of the Settled Land Act, 1882, is vested in the tenant for life and investments representing capital money are vested in the trustees of the settlement), they shall be treated as together constituting and, in so far as they act separately, as acting on behalf of a single body of trustees.

(12) (a) In this section “life interest” in relation to a settlement—

(i) includes a right under the settlement to the income of, or the use or occupation of, settled property for the life of a person (or for the lives of persons) other than the person entitled to the right,

(ii) does not include any right which is contingent on the exercise of the discretion of the trustee or the discretion of some other person, and

(iii) does not include an annuity, notwithstanding that the annuity is payable out of or charged on settled property or the income of settled property except where some or all of the settled property is appropriated by the trustees as a fund out of which the annuity is payable and there is no right of recourse to settled property not so appropriated, or to the income of settled property not so appropriated.

(b) Without prejudice to subsection (6) (b), where under paragraph (a) (iii) an annuity is to be treated as a life interest in relation to a settlement, the settled property or the part of the settled property appropriated by the trustees as a fund out of which the annuity is payable shall, while the annuity is payable, and on the occasion of the death of the annuitant, be treated for the purposes of subsection (5) as being settled property under a separate settlement.