Section 385: Person liable
1554.This section states who is liable for any tax charged.
1555.Under the source legislation there is no provision expressly stating who is liable for the tax charged. Although section 20(1) paragraph 1 of ICTA makes it clear that the charge to tax encompasses all distributions of a UK resident company made in a tax year, and includes a reference to the recipient, it does not actually specify the person liable.
1556.The person liable can however be deduced from the legislation as a whole (and this has been reflected in subsection (1)).
1557.Section 20(1) of ICTA refers to recipients of distributions and persons entitled to tax credits. Paragraph 1 of section 20(1) of ICTA provides that distributions are regarded as income “…however they fall to be dealt with in the hands of the recipient”; paragraph 2 of that section provides that where “…a person is entitled to a tax credit” in respect of a distribution it is the aggregate of the distribution and the tax credit which is taxed.
1558.Section 231(1) of ICTA (tax credits for certain recipients of qualifying distributions) provides that a UK resident “receiving” a qualifying distribution is entitled to a tax credit. And section 232 of ICTA (tax credits for non-UK residents) refers to distributions “received” by certain individuals. Section 231(4) of ICTA deals with the case where a distribution “is, or falls to be treated as, or under any provision of the Tax Acts is deemed to be, the income of a person other than the recipient”, so that other person is treated as receiving the distribution for the purposes of section 231 of ICTA. So, section 231(4) of ICTA suggests that where the distribution actually belongs to someone other than the recipient, or under any provision of the Tax Acts is treated as belonging to someone other than the recipient, that other person is liable for the tax charged.
1559.Section 209 of ICTA is the main provision which defines the term “distribution”. Section 209(1) of ICTA provides that “The following provisions of this Chapter, together with section 418 of ICTA, shall, subject to any express exceptions, have effect with respect to the meaning of “distribution” and for determining the persons to whom certain distributions are to be treated as made ...”.
1560.Where an asset or liability is transferred by a company to a member, section 209(4) of ICTA requires an amount to be treated as a distribution made to the member.
1561.Distributions are made, in most circumstances, to shareholders. For the purposes of Part 6 of ICTA (company distributions, tax credits etc) section 254(12) of that Act regards something done “in respect of a share” as being done to the shareholder, or to someone who has at a particular time been the shareholder. This suggests that someone to whom a distribution is treated as made for the purposes of Part 6 of ICTA is liable.
1562.The definition of distribution is extended by section 418(1) of ICTA to include any amount which is required to be treated as a distribution by section 418(2) of ICTA. Under section 418(2) of ICTA, where a close company incurs expense in providing a benefit or facility for a participator “the company shall be treated as making a distribution to him of an amount equal to so much of that expense as is not made good to the company”. While it does not explicitly identify the person liable in respect of the distribution, in practice the participator is regarded as the person liable.
1563.So, while there is no express person liable provision (as there is for Schedule D for example), there are provisions covering:
the person to whom a distribution is made or to whom it is treated as made for the purposes of Part 6 of ICTA – sections 209(1) and (4), 254(12) and 418(2) of ICTA;
the person receiving a distribution – sections 20(1)1, 231(1) and (4) and 209(4) of ICTA;
the person entitled to the distribution – sections 20(1)2 and 231(4); and
the person to whom the distribution, under any provision of the Tax Acts, is treated as belonging (where that person is not the recipient) – section 231(4) of ICTA.
1564.A provision stating who is liable for any tax charged on distributions from UK resident companies needs to cover all these possibilities save the last one. If a distribution is treated under any provision of the Tax Acts as the income of a person other than the recipient, that legislation will provide who is liable for the tax.
