Overview
1576.Section 392 and the following four sections are based on sections 251A to 251C of ICTA which are part of the legislation relating to SIPs. The SIPs legislation was originally contained in Schedule 8 to the FA 2000 (introduced by section 47 of FA 2000) and was rewritten in ITEPA. The majority of the SIP code is contained in Chapter 6 of Part 7 of and Schedule 2 to ITEPA.
1577.The SIP code is designed to encourage employee share ownership. The core of the SIP code is that a company establishes a share incentive plan. Under the plan various types of share can be acquired or awarded - free shares, partnership shares and matching shares. In addition, scheme participators may, with the dividends paid on their shares, acquire “dividend shares”.
1578.The shares awarded or acquired under the plan are held on behalf of the scheme participant by the trustees of the scheme. Therefore, any dividend paid by the company on those shares is paid to the trustees.
1579.The participant may choose (or the company may require) that all cash dividends paid on the shares be reinvested in further shares. If so, the cash dividend is used by the trustees of the scheme to acquire further shares. Those shares are called dividend shares.
1580.Section 493 of ITEPA (which is rewritten as section 770(2)(a) of this Act) provides that a scheme participant is not liable to income tax on the amount applied by the trustees in acquiring dividend shares on the participant’s behalf.
1581.But a tax charge may arise if the dividend shares subsequently cease to be subject to the approved SIP. The special rules applying when dividend shares cease to be subject to the plan are rewritten in section 394.
1582.If the trustees cannot reinvest the cash dividend either because the amount of the cash dividend is not sufficient to acquire a share or because there is an amount remaining after acquiring shares, the trustees may keep the cash dividend and carry it forward with a view to reinvestment at a later date (see paragraph 68(2) of Schedule 2 to ITEPA). In that case, section 496 of ITEPA (rewritten as section 770(1)(b) of this Act) provides that the participant is not liable to income tax in respect of the amount of the cash dividend held by the trustees.
1583.But if the trustees subsequently pay over the cash dividend to the participant, the tax charge may revive. The special rules applying when the cash dividend held by the trustees is paid over to the participant is rewritten in section 393.
