Finance Act 2003

Payment of tax under section 128 (tax treatment of directors of companies and employees granted rights to acquire shares or other assets) of Principal Act.

8.—(1) Chapter 5 of Part 5 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following after section 128A:

“Payment of tax under section 128.

128B.—(1) This section applies where, by virtue of section 128, a person (in this section referred to as a ‘taxable person’) is chargeable to tax under Schedule E for a year of assessment on an amount equal to the gain realised by the exercise, on or after 30 June 2003, of a right to acquire shares (in this section referred to as ‘relevant shares’) in a company.

(2) Where this section applies for a year of assessment, the taxable person shall pay an amount of tax (in this section referred to as ‘relevant tax’) in respect of the gain realised by the exercise of the right to acquire relevant shares, and that amount of tax shall be determined by the formula—

A × B

where—

A is the amount of that gain computed in accordance with section 128(4), and

B is the percentage which is equal to the higher rate in force for the year of assessment in which the taxable person exercises the right to acquire the relevant shares.

(3) Relevant tax shall be due and payable to the Collector-General within 30 days after the exercise of the right to acquire the relevant shares, and shall be so due and payable without the making of an assessment, but relevant tax which has become so due and payable may be assessed on the taxable person (whether or not it has been paid when the assessment is made) if the tax or any part of it is not paid on or before the due date.

(4) Each payment of relevant tax shall be accompanied by a return containing, in relation to the taxable person by whom the payment is made, details of the amount of the gain referred to in subsection (1) and of the relevant tax due in respect of that gain and such other particulars as may be required by the return.

(5) Every return under this section shall be in a form prescribed or authorised by the Revenue Commissioners, and shall include a declaration to the effect that the return is correct and complete.

(6) The Collector-General shall give the taxable person a receipt for the amount of relevant tax paid by the taxable person.

(7) Where it appears to an officer of the Revenue Commissioners that there is any amount of relevant tax which ought to have been but has not been included in a return under subsection (4), or where such officer is dissatisfied with any such return, such officer may make an assessment on the taxable person concerned to the best of such officer's judgement, and any amount of relevant tax due under an assessment made by virtue of this subsection shall be treated for the purposes of interest on unpaid tax as having been payable at the time specified in subsection (3).

(8) Where any item has been incorrectly included in a return under subsection (4) as a gain in respect of which relevant tax is required to be paid, an officer of the Revenue Commissioners may make such assessments, adjustments or set-offs as may in his or her judgement be required for securing that the resulting liability to relevant tax, including interest on unpaid tax, of the taxable person is, in so far as possible, the same as it would have been if the item had not been so included.

(9) (a) The provisions of the Income Tax Acts relating to—

(i) assessments to income tax,

(ii) appeals against such assessments (including the rehearing of appeals and the statement of a case for the opinion of the High Court), and

(iii) the collection and recovery of income tax,

shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply to the assessment, collection and recovery of relevant tax.

(b) Any amount of relevant tax payable in accordance with this section without the making of an assessment shall carry interest at the rate of 0.0322 per cent for each day or part of a day from the date when the amount becomes due and payable until payment.

(c) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 1080 shall apply in relation to interest payable under paragraph (b) as they apply in relation to interest payable under that section.

(d) In its application to any relevant tax charged by any assessment made in accordance with this section, section 1080 shall apply as if subsection (1)(b) of that section were deleted.

(10) Where a taxable person has paid relevant tax in respect of a gain realised by the exercise, in any year of assessment, of a right to acquire relevant shares, the taxable person may claim to have that relevant tax set against the income tax chargeable on the taxable person for that year of assessment and, where that relevant tax exceeds such income tax, to have the excess refunded to the taxable person.

(11) Relevant tax payable by a taxable person in respect of a gain realised by the exercise, in any year of assessment, of a right to acquire relevant shares shall not be regarded as a payment of, or on account of, preliminary tax for the purposes of sections 952 and 958.

(12) Relevant tax payable by a taxable person in respect of a gain realised by the exercise, in any year of assessment, of a right to acquire relevant shares—

(a) shall not, for the purpose of section 952(2), form part of the income tax which in the opinion of the taxable person is likely to become payable by that person for that year of assessment,

(b) shall not, for the purposes of section 958(3A), be regarded as either part of the income tax paid or part of the income tax payable by that person for that year of assessment, and

(c) shall not, for the purposes of section 958(4), be regarded as income tax payable by the taxable person for that year of assessment.

(13) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any gain realised by the exercise, in any year of assessment, of a right to acquire relevant shares and in respect of which relevant tax is payable by a taxable person shall be included in the return required to be delivered by that person under section 951.

(14) Where, on an application in writing having been made to them in that behalf, the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that an individual is likely to be chargeable to income tax for a year of assessment at the standard rate only, the reference in the meaning of B in subsection (2) to the higher rate shall be construed for the purposes of the payment or payments required to be made by the individual for that year in accordance with subsection (2), as a reference to the standard rate.”,

and

(b) in section 128(2A), by deleting paragraph (a).

(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall come into operation as on and from 30 June 2003.

(b) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects the exercise, assignment or release of a right (within the meaning of section 128 of the Principal Act) on or after 30 June 2003.