Finance Act 2012
|
Chapter 2 Universal Social Charge | ||
|
Universal social charge: miscellaneous amendments. |
2.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in the Table to subsection (1) of section 531AM— | |
(a) in paragraph (a)(ii) by inserting “except where such shares were held by an employee share ownership trust, approved in accordance with Schedule 12, before 1 January 2011,” after “Chapter 1 of Part 17,”, | ||
(b) in paragraph (a)(iii) by deleting “and”, | ||
(c) by substituting the following for paragraph (a)(iv): | ||
“(iv) any gain exempted from income tax by virtue of section 519A(3) or 519D(3) after such a gain is reduced by the market value of the right referred to in subparagraph (iii), and”, | ||
(d) by inserting the following after paragraph (a)(iv): | ||
“(v) the ‘specified amount’ as defined in section 825C,”, | ||
(e) in paragraph (a)(III) by substituting “PAYE Regulations, and” for “PAYE Regulations”, | ||
(f) in paragraph (a)(IV) by substituting “Schedule 3.” for “Schedule 3, and”, | ||
(g) by deleting paragraph (a)(V), | ||
(h) in paragraph (b)(ii)— | ||
(i) by substituting “(IV)” for “(V)”, and | ||
(ii) by deleting “(iv)”, | ||
(i) in paragraph (b)(vi) by substituting “section 531AU(1),” for “section 531AU(1), and”, | ||
(j) in paragraph (b)(vii) by substituting “section 531AU(2), and” for “section 531AU(2),”, and | ||
(k) by inserting the following after paragraph (b)(vii): | ||
“(viii) where section 372AP applies in respect of an individual, the amount that the individual is deemed to have received as rent in accordance with subsection (7) of that section where the individual received, or was entitled to receive, the deduction referred to in subsection (2) of that section on or after 1 January 2012,”. | ||
(2) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AM(2) by substituting “€10,036” for “€4,004”. | ||
(3) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AN— | ||
(a) by inserting the following after subsection (2): | ||
“(2A) For the purposes of subsection (2), relevant income shall not include any amount in respect of which an individual is chargeable to tax under Schedule E in accordance with section 128(2).”, | ||
(b) in subsection (3) by substituting “Council Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 of 29 April 2004 1 ” for “Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1408/71 of 14 June 1971”, | ||
(c) by inserting the following after subsection (3): | ||
“(3A) Where an individual is chargeable to income tax under Case IV of Schedule D in respect of an encashment amount, or a deemed encashment amount, as the case may be, under section 787TA, then— | ||
(a) notwithstanding subsection (1) and the Table to this section, the individual shall be charged to universal social charge for the tax year in which the income tax is charged on the full amount so charged to income tax at the rate of 4 per cent, and | ||
(b) the amount so chargeable to income tax shall not be regarded as relevant income for the purposes of subsection (2).”, | ||
and | ||
(d) in subsection (4) by substituting “subsections (2), (2A), (3) and (3A)(b)” for “subsections (2) and (3)”. | ||
(4) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AO— | ||
(a) by deleting subsections (2) to (12), and | ||
(b) by inserting the following after subsection (1): | ||
“(1A) Where— | ||
(a) an employer pays relevant emoluments to an employee in the form of shares (including stock), or | ||
(b) an employee realises a gain by the exercise of a right in accordance with the provisions of a scheme approved under Schedule 12A, | ||
and where, by reason of an insufficiency of payments actually made to or on behalf of the employee, the employer is unable to deduct the amount (or full amount) of the universal social charge required to be deducted under this Part and regulations made under this Part in respect of those shares or that gain, as the case may be, that employer shall be entitled to withhold and to realise sufficient shares to meet that universal social charge liability. | ||
(1B) Where subsection (1A) applies— | ||
(a) the employee shall allow such withholding as is referred to in that subsection, and | ||
(b) the employer shall be acquitted and discharged of so much of the universal social charge liability as is represented by the shares withheld as if the value of those shares had been paid to the employee. | ||
(1C) Subsection (1A) shall not apply where the employee has otherwise made good to the employer the amount of the universal social charge required to be deducted under this Part and regulations made under this Part in respect of those shares or that gain, as the case may be, as is referred to in that subsection.”. | ||
(5) The Principal Act is amended by deleting sections 531AP and 531AQ. | ||
(6) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AS by inserting the following after subsection (1): | ||
“(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) and, as respects a gain realised by an individual by the exercise of a right to acquire shares in a company, section 128B shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to universal social charge as it applies to income tax and for this purpose— | ||
(a) ‘relevant tax’ as referred to in section 128B shall include universal social charge, | ||
(b) ‘B’ in the formula in section 128B(2) shall be the percentage which is equal to the highest rate set out in column (2) or (3), as the case may be, of the Table to section 531AN that is in force for the tax year in which the individual realises a gain by the exercise of a right to acquire shares in a company, and | ||
(c) where the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the individual is likely to be chargeable to universal social charge for a tax year at a rate other than whichever of the rates set out in column (2) or (3), as the case may be, of the Table to section 531AN is the highest such rate, section 128B(14) shall apply as if the reference to the standard rate was a reference to that other rate.”. | ||
(7) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AT by substituting the following for subsection (2): | ||
“(2) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 531AS, as they relate to the aggregation of universal social charge and income tax, shall apply for the purposes of this section, with any necessary modifications, as they apply to universal social charge due and payable by a chargeable person and as if ‘For the purposes of subsection (2)’ were deleted in subsection (4).”. | ||
(8) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 531AU: | ||
“Universal social charge and approved profit sharing schemes. | ||
531AUA.— Where universal social charge is charged on the initial market value of shares in accordance with subparagraph (a)(ii) of the Table to section 531AM(1), it shall not be charged— | ||
(a) where there is a disposal of shares, or a deemed disposal of shares, as referred to in subsections (2) and (7), respectively, of section 512, on the appropriate percentage of the locked-in value of those shares as construed in accordance with subsection (1) of that section, or | ||
(b) where there is a capital receipt within the meaning of section 513(1), on the appropriate percentage of the amount or value, as the case may be, of that capital receipt.”. | ||
(9) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AAA— | ||
(a) by substituting the following for paragraph (a): | ||
“(a) Chapter 1 of Part 38, in relation to the making of returns of income, and Chapter 4 of that Part, in relation to the making of enquiries and the exercise of the powers, duties and responsibilities provided for by that Chapter,”, | ||
and | ||
(b) in paragraphs (b) and (c) by substituting “Chapters” for “Chapter”. | ||
(10) The Principal Act is amended in section 531AAB— | ||
(a) in paragraph (q) by deleting “and” where it last occurs, | ||
(b) in paragraph (r) by substituting “appeal;” for “appeal.”, and | ||
(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (r): | ||
“(s) with respect to the deduction, collection and recovery of amounts to be accounted for in respect of notional payments, and | ||
(t) for the making available by the Revenue Commissioners of an electronic system or systems to allow employers and employees to fulfil their obligations under this Chapter and regulations made under this Chapter and to allow for electronic communications between the Revenue Commissioners, officers of the Revenue Commissioners, employers, employees and other persons pursuant to obligations under those provisions and for the provision of enhancements or other changes to that system or those systems, as the case may be, and for any replacement for such system or systems.”. | ||
(11) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 531AAE (inserted by section 3 ): | ||
“Delegation of functions and discharge of functions by electronic means. | ||
531AAF.— Any act to be performed or function to be discharged by the Revenue Commissioners that is authorised or required by this Part or by regulations made under this Part may be performed or discharged by any one or more of their officers acting under their authority or may, if appropriate, be performed or discharged through such electronic systems as the Revenue Commissioners may put in place for the time being for any such purpose.”. | ||
(12) Paragraphs (a), (c) and (h)(ii) of subsection (1), (a), (b) and (d) of subsection (3) and subsections (7), (8) and (9) shall be deemed to have had effect as on and from 1 January 2011. | ||
(13) Subsection (2) has effect as respects the liability of an individual to universal social charge for the year of assessment 2012 and each subsequent year. | ||