Finance Act, 1920

Relief in respect of Dominion income tax.

27.(1) If any person who has paid, by deduction or otherwise, or is liable to pay, United Kingdom income tax for any year of assessment on any part of his income proves to the satisfaction of the Special Commissioners that he has paid Dominion income tax for that year in respect of the same part of his income, he shall be entitled to relief from United Kingdom income tax paid or payable by him on that part of his income at a rate thereon to be determined as follows:—

(a) if the Dominion rate of tax does not exceed one-half of the appropriate rate of United Kingdom tax, the rate at which relief is to be given shall be the Dominion rate of tax:

(b) In any other case the rate at which relief is to be given shall be one-half of the appropriate rate of United Kingdom tax.

For the purpose of this section the expression “the appropriate rate of United Kingdom tax” means the rate at which the claimant for the year to which the claim relates has borne or is liable to bear United Kingdom income tax, and where the claimant is liable to United Kingdom income tax, and where the claimant is liable to United Kingdom super-tax the expression “the appropriate rate of United Kingdom tax” means a rate equal to the sum of the rates at which he has borne or is liable to bear United Kingdom income tax and super-tax respectively for that year.

(2) Where a person has not established his claim to relief under this section for any year of assessment before the first day of January in that year, the relief shall be granted by way of repayment of tax.

(3) Where by reason of the allowance of relief under this section the rate of United Kingdom income tax deducted from or paid in respect of any part of the income of any individual is less than the standard rate, and the rate of the relief so allowed is greater than the rate appropriate to the case of that individual, such an adjustment shall be made in allowing to that individual any relief to which he may be entitled under the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the rate of tax on the first two hundred and twenty-five pounds of taxable income as may be necessary to secure that the amount of United Kingdom income tax finally paid or borne by him shall be equal to the amount which would have been paid or borne if the relief under this section had in the first instance been given at the rate appropriate to his case.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in the Rules applicable to Case IV. or Case V. of Schedule D. or in any other provision of the Income Tax Acts, no deduction shall be made on account of the payment of Dominion income tax in estimating income for the purposes of United Kingdom income tax, and where income tax has been paid or is payable in any Dominion either on the income out of which income subject to United Kingdom income tax arises or is received, or as a direct charge in respect of that income, the income so subject to Untied Kingdom income tax shall be deemed to be income arising or received after deduction of Dominion income tax and an addition shall, in estimating income for the purposes of the United Kingdom income tax, be made to that income of the proportionate part of the income tax paid or payable in the Dominion in respect of the income out of which that income arises or is received together with the full amount of any Dominion income tax directly charged or chargeable in the Dominion in respect of that income:

Provided that—

(a) where any income arising or received as aforesaid consists of dividends which are entrusted to any person in the United Kingdom for payment and the Special Commissioners are satisfied that the person so entrusted is not in a position to ascertain the amount of the addition to be made under this subsection, the assessment and charge may be made on the amount of the dividends as received by the person so entrusted, but in any such case the amount of the addition shall be chargeable on the receipient of the dividends under Case VI. of Schedule D.; and

(b) where under the laws in force in any Dominion no provision is made for the allowance of relief from Dominion income tax in respect of the payment of United Kingdom income tax, then in assessing or charging income tax in the United Kingdom in respect of income assessed or charged to income tax in that Dominion a deduction shall be allowed in estimating income for the purpose of Untied Kingdom income tax of an amount equal to the difference between the amount of the Dominion income tax paid or payable in respect of the income and the total amount of the relief granted from the United Kingdom income tax in respect of the Dominion income tax for the period on the income of which the assessment or charge to United Kingdom income tax is computed.

In this subsection the expression “dividends” includes any interest, annuities, dividends, shares of annuites, pensions, or other annual payments or sums in respect of which tax is charged under the Rules applicable to Schedule C. or under Rule VII. of the Miscellaneous Rules applicable to Schedule D.

(5) Where under Rule 20 of the General Rules applicable to Schedules A., B., C., D. and E., a body of persons is entitled to deduct income tax from any dividends, tax shall not in any case be deducted at a rate exceeding the rate of the United Kingdom income tax as reduced by any relief from that tax given under this section in respect of any payment of Dominion income tax.

(6) Where under the law in force in any Dominion provision is made for the allowance of relief from Dominion income tax in respect of the payment of United Kingdom income tax, the obligation as to secrecy imposed by the Income Tax Acts upon persons employed in relation to Inland Revenue shall not prevent the disclosure to the authorised officer of the Government of the Dominion of such facts as may be necessary to enable the proper relief to be given in cases where relief is claimed both from Untied Kingdom income tax and from Dominion income tax.

(7) The Commissioners of Inland Revenue may from time to time make regulations generally for carrying out the provisions of this section, and may, in particular, by those regulations provide:—

(a) For making such arrangements with the Government of any Dominion to which the last preceeding subsection applies as may be necessary to enable to appropriate relief to be granted:

(b) For prescribing the year which in relation to any Dominion income tax is, for the purposes of relief under this section, to be taken as corresponding to the year of assessment for the purposes of United Kingdom income tax.

(8) In this section:—

(a) The expression “Dominion” means any British possession, or any territory which is under His Majesty’s protection or in respect of which a mandate is being exercised by the Government of any part of His Majesty’s dominions:

(b) The expressions “United Kingdom income tax” and “United Kingdom super-tax” mean respectively income tax and super-tax chargeable in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts:

(c) The expression “Dominion income tax” means any income tax or super-tax charged under any law in force in any Dominion, if that tax appears to the Special Commissioners to correspond with United Kingdom income tax or super-tax:

(d) The expression “Dominion rate of tax” means the rate determined by dividing the amount of the Dominion income tax paid for the year by the amount of the income in respect of which the Dominion income tax is charged for that year, except that where the Dominion income tax is charged on an amount other than the ascertained amount of the actual profits the Dominion rate of tax for the purposes of this section shall be determined by the Special Commissioners.

For the purposes of this section, the rate of United Kingdom income tax shall be ascertained by dividing by the amount of the taxable income of the person concerned the amount of tax payable by that person on that income before deduction of any relief granted in respect of life assurance premiums or any relief granted under the provisions of this section, and the rate or United Kingdom super-tax shall be ascertained by dividing the amount of the super-tax payable by any person by the amount of that person’s total income from all sources as estimated for super-tax purposes.