Office of Public Sector Information

• “asset” means any description of property or rights other than land or an interest in land;

• “lease” includes an underlease, sublease or any tenancy or licence, and any agreement for a lease, underlease, sublease or tenancy or licence and, in the case of land outside the United Kingdom, any interest corresponding to a lease as so defined; and in relation to such land, expressions in this section relating to interests in land and their disposition shall be construed accordingly;

• “rent” includes any payment made under a lease; and

• “tenant’s repairing lease” means a lease where the lessee is under an obligation to maintain and repair the whole, or substantially the whole, of the premises comprised in the lease.

(13) For the purposes of this section the following are deductions by way of relevant tax relief, that is to say—

(a) a deduction in computing profits or gains chargeable under Schedule A allowable by virtue of sections 25, 26 and 28 to 31 and Schedule 1;

(b) a deduction in computing profits or gains or losses of a trade, profession or vocation for the purposes of tax;

(c) a deduction in computing profits or gains chargeable under Case VI of Schedule D, or in computing any loss for which relief is allowable under section 392 or 396;

(d) allowance of a payment under section 75 or 76;

(e) a deduction from emoluments to be assessed under Schedule E made in pursuance of section 198(1) or allowable in computing losses in an employment for tax purposes;

(f) a deduction allowable for tax purposes in computing profits or gains or losses arising from woodlands.

(14) This section shall not apply if the transfer described in subsection (1) or (2) above was on or before 14th April 1964.

780 Sale and lease-back: taxation of consideration received

(1) If, in any case where a person (“the lessee”) who is a lessee of land under a lease having not more than 50 years to run (“the original lease”) is entitled in respect of the rent under the lease to a deduction by way of tax relief which is a relevant tax relief for the purposes of section 779—

(a) the lessee assigns the original lease to another person, or surrenders it to his landlord, for a consideration which apart from this section would not be taxable otherwise than as capital in the hands of the lessee, and

(b) there is granted or assigned to the lessee another lease (“the new lease”) of or including the whole or any part of the land which was the subject of the original lease for a term not exceeding 15 years;

then, subject to the following provisions of this section, the provisions of this Act providing for deductions or allowances by way of tax relief in respect of payments of rent shall apply in relation to the rent under the new lease, and for the purposes of the Tax Acts a proportion of the consideration received by the lessee shall be treated not as a capital receipt but in accordance with subsection (3) below.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a) if the aggregate of the rent payable under the new lease in respect of any rental period ending on a date falling before the 15th anniversary of the date on which the term of the new lease begins is greater than the aggregate of the rent payable under the new lease in respect of the period of equal duration beginning on the day following that date, then unless the term of the new lease would be treated as ending on an earlier date by virtue of paragraph (b) below, that term shall be treated as ending on that date;

(b) if under the terms of the new lease —

(i) the lessor or the lessee has power to determine the new lease at a time before the expiry of the term for which it was granted, or

(ii) the lessee has power to vary his obligations under the new lease so as to reduce the rent which he would otherwise have to pay or in any other manner beneficial to him,

then, unless the term of the new lease would be treated as ending on an earlier date by virtue of paragraph (a) above, that term shall be treated as ending on the earliest date with effect from which, in exercise of that power, the lessor or the lessee could determine the new lease or, as the case may be, the lessee could so vary his obligations;

and in any case where a rentcharge payable by the lessee is secured on the whole or any part of the property which is the subject of the new lease, the rent payable under the new lease shall be treated for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) above as equal to the aggregate of the rentcharge and the rent payable under the terms of that lease.

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the proportion of the consideration received by the lessee as mentioned in subsection (1) above, or of any instalment of that consideration, which for the purposes of the Tax Acts is to be treated not as a capital receipt but in accordance with this subsection shall be determined by the formula—

(4) In any case where the property which is the subject of the new lease does not include the whole of the property which was the subject of the original lease, the consideration received by the lessee shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (3) above as reduced to that portion of the consideration which is reasonably attributable to such part of the property which was the subject of the original lease as consists of, or is included in, the property which is the subject of the new lease.

(5) Schedule 2 shall have effect for the purposes of giving relief, on a claim being made in that behalf, from any increase in an individual’s liability to income tax which is attributable to any amount being treated, by virtue of subsection (3) above, as an income receipt for a single year of assessment rather than as a series of such receipts during the term of the new lease; and in the application of that Schedule by virtue of this subsection for the definitions of “chargeable sum” and “relevant period” there shall be substituted the following definitions—

• “chargeable sum” means the amount in respect of which, by virtue of subsection (3) above, the claimant is chargeable to income tax for the year of assessment;

• “relevant period”, in relation to any chargeable sum, means the term of the new lease.

(6) Where by agreement with his landlord, the lessee varies the terms of the original lease in such a manner that, in return for such a consideration as is specified in subsection (1)(a) above, the lessee undertakes to pay, during a period ending not later than 15 years after the date on which the consideration, or if the consideration is paid in instalments, the last such instalment, is paid to the lessee, a rent greater than that payable under the original lease, he shall be treated for the purposes of this section—

(a) as having surrendered the original lease for that consideration, and

(b) as having been granted a new lease for a term not exceeding 15 years but otherwise on the terms of the original lease as so varied.

(7) References in this section to the lessee (other than in subsection (1)(a) above) include references to a person who is a partner or associate of the lessee or an associate of a partner of the lessee; and for the purposes of this section the expression “associate” shall be construed in accordance with 783(10).

(8) Subject to subsection (7) above, expressions used in this section have the meanings assigned to them by section 24, and in subsection (2)(a) above “rental period” means a period in respect of which a payment of rent falls to be made, and for the purposes of that subsection, in a case where the rental period is a quarter or a month, each such period shall be treated as of equal duration.

(9) The preceding provisions of this section shall not apply if the lessee had, before 22nd June 1971, a right enforceable at law or in equity to the grant of the new lease, but in any case where, apart from this subsection, those provisions would apply, no part of the rent paid under the new lease shall be treated as a payment of capital, and the provisions of this Act providing for deductions or allowances by way of tax relief in respect of payments of rent shall apply accordingly.

781 Assets leased to traders and others

(1) Subject to section 782, where—

(a) a deduction by way of tax relief which is one of the kinds listed in subsection (4) below is allowable in respect of a payment made under a lease of an asset of any description, and

(b) before, at or after the time when the payment is made, either—

(i) the person who made the payment has obtained or obtains a capital sum in respect of the lessee’s interest in the lease, or

(ii) the lessor’s interest in the lease, or any other interest in the asset, has belonged to an associate of the person who made the payment, and that associate has obtained a capital sum in respect of that interest,

the person obtaining that sum shall be charged under Case VI of Schedule D for the chargeable period in which the sum is obtained with tax on an amount equal to the amount of the payment in respect of which tax relief is so allowed.

(2) A person shall not be assessed to tax under subsection (1) above on any amount to the extent to which it exceeds the capital sum by reference to which he is so assessed.

(3) Subsection (1) above shall not apply to payments under a lease created on or before 14th April 1964.

(4) The kinds of deductions by way of tax relief to which subsection (1) above applies are as follows—

(a) a deduction in computing profits or gains or losses of a trade, profession or vocation for the purposes of tax;

(b) a deduction in computing profits or gains chargeable under Case VI of Schedule D, or in computing any loss for which relief is allowable under section 392 or 396;

(c) allowance of a payment under section 75 or 76;

(d) a deduction from emoluments to be assessed under Schedule E made in pursuance of section 198(1) or allowable in computing losses in an employment for tax purposes;

(e) a deduction allowable for tax purposes in computing profits or gains or losses arising from woodlands.

(5) Where—

(a) the deduction by way of tax relief mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above is a deduction in computing, for income tax purposes, profits or gains or losses of a trade, profession or vocation, or arising from woodlands, and

(b) any part of the payments made under the lease by the person obtaining the capital sum is a payment in respect of which a deduction is not allowed for the reason that the whole or any part of the period in which the payment would fall to be allowed is not a period on the profits or gains of which income tax falls to be computed in respect of the trade, profession or vocation,

for the reference in subsection (2) above to the amount of the capital sum there shall be substituted a reference to that amount after deducting the amount of the payment in respect of which a deduction is not allowed for that reason.

(6) So far as in respect of a capital sum any part of a payment allowed as a deduction by way of tax relief of a kind to which this section applies is taken into account in making an assessment under subsection (1) above, that part of the payment shall be left out of account in determining whether any and if so what amount should be assessed by reference to any other capital sum; and the order in which this subsection is applied shall be the order in which the capital sums are obtained.

(7) There shall be made all such adjustments of tax, whether by way of making assessments or by repayment of tax, as are required after the making of any such payment as is described in subsection (1) above to give effect to the charge under that subsection in respect of a sum obtained before the making of the payment.

(8) Notwithstanding anything in the Tax Acts limiting the time within which an assessment may be made or a claim for relief may be admitted any such adjustment may be made, by making an assessment or otherwise, at any time not more than six years from the end of the chargeable period in which the payment was made.

(9) This section shall not apply if the capital sum obtained in respect of the lessee’s interest in a lease constituting a hire-purchase agreement for machinery or plant is a sum which is required to be brought into account as the whole or part of the disposal value of the machinery or plant under section 45(2) of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971.

782 Leased assets: special cases

(1) This section shall apply, and section 781 shall not apply, to payments—

(a) which are allowable by way of deductions in computing the profits or gains or losses of a trade, and

(b) which are made under a lease of an asset which at any time before the creation of the lease was used for the purposes—

(i) of that trade; or

(ii) of another trade carried on by the person who at that time or later was carrying on the first-mentioned trade;

and when so used was owned by the person carrying on the trade in which it was being used.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the deduction allowable in computing the profits or gains or losses of the trade for the purposes of tax as respects any such payment shall not exceed the commercial rent of the asset for the period for which the payment was made.

(3) If under subsection (2) above part of a payment which would otherwise be allowable as a deduction is not so allowable, and one or more subsequent payments are made by the same person under the same lease, that part of the first-mentioned payment may be carried forward and treated for the purposes of computing the profits or gains or losses of the trade for the purposes of tax as if it were made at the time when the next of those subsequent payments was made, and so made for the period for which that subsequent payment was made.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) above—

(a) if more than one payment is made for the same period the payments shall be taken together;

(b) if the payments are made for periods which overlap, the payments shall be apportioned, and the apportioned payments which belong to the common part of the overlapping periods shall be taken together;

(c) the preceding references to payments include references to parts of payments which under subsection (3) above are treated as if made at a time subsequent to that at which they were made;

and to the extent that a part of a payment carried forward under subsection (3) above is not allowable as a deduction it may again be carried forward under that subsection.

(5) A payment made for a period all of which falls more than one year after the payment is made shall be treated for the purposes of this section as made for that period of one year beginning with the date on which the payment is made, and a payment for a period part of which falls after the end of that year shall be treated for those purposes as if a corresponding part of the payment was made for that year (and no part for any later period).

(6) For the purpose of making a comparison under subsection (2) above between a payment, or payments taken together, and the commercial rent of the asset, “commercial rent” shall mean the rent which might at the relevant time be expected to be paid under a lease of the asset for the remainder of the anticipated normal working life of the asset, being a rent payable at uniform intervals and at a uniform rate which would afford a reasonable return for its market value at the relevant time, having regard to the terms and conditions of the lease; and in this subsection—

• “anticipated normal working life” means, in the case of any asset, the period which might be expected, when the asset is first put into use, to be going to elapse before it is finally put out of use as being unfit for further use, it being assumed that the asset is going to be used in the normal manner and to the normal extent, and is going to be so used throughout that period; and

• “the relevant time” means the time when the lease was created under which the payment was made with which the commercial rent is to be compared.

(7) If the asset is used at the same time partly for the purposes of the trade and partly for other purposes the commercial rent as defined in subsection (6) above shall be determined by reference to what would be paid for such a partial use of the asset.

(8) This section shall not apply in relation to payments made under a lease created on or before 14th April 1964.

(9) In this section references to the person carrying on a trade are references to the person carrying on the trade for the time being, and where at any time a person succeeds to a trade which until that time was carried on by another person, and by virtue of section 113 or 337(1) the trade is to be treated as discontinued, the trade shall, nonetheless, be treated as the same trade for the purposes of this section.

(10) In this section references to a trade include references to a profession or vocation.

783 Leased assets: supplemental

(1) References in section 781 to a sum obtained in respect of the lessee’s interest in a lease of an asset, or in respect of any other interest in an asset include—

(a) in the case of a lessee’s interest, references to sums representing the consideration in money or money’s worth obtained on a surrender of the rights to the lessor, or on an assignment of the lease, or on creating a sublease or any other interest out of the lease; and

(b) references to any insurance moneys payable in respect of the asset, so far as payable to the owner of the interest in the asset.

(2) Such references also include references to sums representing money or money’s worth obtained by the person entitled to the interest by a transaction or series of transactions disposing of the asset, or of an interest in the asset, and in particular transactions which comprise arrangements under which the rights of the lessee under a lease of the asset are merged in any way with the rights of the lessor, or with any other rights as respects the asset, so far as the money or money’s worth so obtained is attributable to the rights of the lessee under the lease.

(3) References in section 781 to sums obtained in respect of any interest in an asset include references to money or money’s worth so obtained in any transaction (including a transaction of the kind described in subsection (1) or (2) above) by way of consideration received by a person who is an associate of the person entitled to the interest in the asset.

(4) If an interest in the asset is disposed of by any person to a person who is his associate, the person disposing of the interest shall (unless in fact he obtains a greater sum) be treated for the purposes of section 781 as having obtained in respect of the interest—

(a) the value of the interest in the open market; or

(b) the value of the interest to the person to whom it is, in effect, transferred;

whichever is the greater.

(5) For the purposes of subsections (3) and (4) above a disposition may be direct or indirect and may be effected by any such transaction as is described in subsection (2) above.

(6) For the purposes of sections 781 and 784 and this section any sum obtained by any persons carrying on a trade, profession or vocation in partnership in respect of an interest in an asset which is and continues to be used for the purposes of the trade, profession or vocation shall be regarded as apportionable between them in the shares in which they are then entitled to the profits of the trade, profession or vocation.

(7) Subject to subsection (6) above, for those purposes a sum obtained by persons jointly entitled to an interest in an asset shall be apportionable according to their respective interests in the rights.

(8) For those purposes, any payment in respect of which a deduction is allowable by way of tax relief which is made by persons carrying on a trade, profession or vocation in partnership shall be apportioned in such manner as may be just.

(9) Where under this section any sum or payment falls to be apportioned and, at the time of the apportionment, it appears that it is material as respects the liability to tax (for whatever period) of two or more persons, any question which arises as to the manner in which the sum or payment is to be apportioned shall be determined, for the purposes of tax of all those persons—

(a) in a case where the same body of General Commissioners have jurisdiction with respect to all those persons, by those Commissioners unless all those persons agree that it shall be determined by the Special Commissioners;

(b) in a case where different bodies of Commissioners have jurisdiction with respect to those persons, by such of those bodies as the Board may direct unless all those persons agree that it shall be determined by the Special Commissioners; and

(c) in any other case, by the Special Commissioners;

and any such Commissioners shall determine the question in like manner as if it were an appeal, except that all those persons shall be entitled to appear and be heard by the Commissioners who are to make the determination or to make representations to them in writing.

(10) For the purposes of this section and in construing the expressions “associate” and “associated” in section 781 and this section, the following persons shall be deemed to be associated with each other, that is to say—

(a) any individual and that individual’s husband or wife, and any relative, or husband or wife of a relative, of that individual or that individual’s husband or wife (“relative” meaning, for this purpose, brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant);

(b) any person in his capacity of trustee of a settlement and any individual who in relation to the settlement is a settlor, and any person associated with that individual (“settlement” and “settlor” having, for this purpose, the meanings given by section 670(2));

(c) any person and a body of persons of which that person, or persons associated with him, or that person and persons associated with him, has or have control;

(d) any two or more bodies of persons associated with the same person by virtue of paragraph (c) above;

(e) in relation to a disposal by joint owners, the joint owners and any person associated with any of them.

(11) In subsection (10) above “body of persons” includes a partnership and “control” has the meaning given by section 840.

784 Leased assets subject to hire-purchase agreements

(1) In the application of section 781 to a lease which constitutes a hire-purchase agreement, for the reference in subsection (2) of that section to the amount of the capital sum there shall, where that capital sum was obtained in respect of the lessee’s interest in the lease constituting the hire-purchase agreement, be substituted references to the amount of the capital sum (adjusted, if necessary, under subsection (5) of that section) after deducting any capital expenditure which was incurred by the person obtaining the capital sum in providing the lessee’s interest.

(2) In subsection (1) above “capital expenditure which was incurred by the person obtaining the capital sum in providing the lessee’s interest” means—

(a) so much of any payment made under the lease by the person obtaining the capital sum (or, where the capital sum was obtained by the personal representatives of a deceased person, so made by that deceased person) as is not a payment in respect of which a deduction is allowable by way of tax relief which is one of the kinds listed in subsection (4) of section 781, plus

(b) where the lessee’s interest was assigned to the person obtaining the capital sum, any capital payment made by that person as consideration for the assignment.

(3) If the amount to be deducted in pursuance of subsection (1) above exceeds the amount of the capital sum from which it is to be deducted, no charge shall arise under section 781(1) in respect of the capital sum.

(4) If the capital sum represents the consideration for part only of the lessee’s interest in the lease which constitutes a hire-purchase agreement, the amount to be deducted under subsection (1) above shall be such proportion of the capital expenditure which is still unallowed as is reasonable having regard to the degree to which the capital expenditure has contributed to the value of what is disposed of in return for the capital sum.

(5) If more than one capital sum is, or is to be regarded as, obtained by the same person in respect of the lessee’s interest in the lease which constitutes a hire-purchase agreement, then, so far as in respect of one of those capital sums any deduction is made in respect of capital expenditure in pursuance of subsection (1) above that capital expenditure shall be left out of account in applying subsections (1) and (3) above to any other such capital sum; and the order in which this subsection is applied shall be the order in which the capital sums are obtained.

(6) In this section—

• “hire-purchase agreement” means an agreement, other than a conditional sale agreement, under which—

  (a)

  goods are bailed or, in Scotland, hired in return for periodical payments by the person to whom they are bailed or hired, and

  (b)

  the property in the goods will pass to that person if the terms of the agreement are complied with and one or more of the following occurs—

  (i)

  the exercise of an option to purchase by that person;

  (ii)

  the doing of any other specified act by any party to the agreement;

  (iii)

  the happening of any other specified event; and

• “conditional sale agreement” means an agreement for the sale of goods under which the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments, and the property in the goods is to remain in the seller (notwithstanding that the buyer is to be in possession of the goods) until such conditions as to the payment of instalments or otherwise as may be specified in the agreement are fulfilled.

785 Meaning of “asset”, “capital sum” and “lease” for purposes of sections 781 to 784

In sections 781 to 784—

• “asset” means any description of property or rights other than land or an interest in land;

• “capital sum” means any sum of money, or any money’s worth, except so far as it or any part of it is to be treated for the purposes of tax as a receipt to be taken into account in computing the profits or gains or losses of a trade, profession or vocation, or profits or gains or losses arising from woodlands, or is, apart from section 781, chargeable under Case VI of Schedule D; and

• “lease”, in relation to an asset, means any kind of agreement or arrangement under which payments are made for the use of, or otherwise in respect of, an asset, and includes, in particular, any agreement or arrangement all or any of the payments under which represent instalments of, or payments towards, a purchase price.

786 Transactions associated with loans or credit

(1) This section applies as respects any transaction effected with reference to the lending of money or the giving of credit, or the varying of the terms on which money is lent or credit is given, or which is effected with a view to enabling or facilitating any such arrangement concerning the lending of money or the giving of credit.

(2) Subsection (1) above has effect whether the transaction is effected between the lender or creditor and the borrower or debtor, or between either of them and a person connected with the other or between a person connected with one and a person connected with the other.

(3) If the transaction provides for the payment of any annuity or other annual payment, not being interest, being a payment chargeable to tax under Case III of Schedule D, the payment shall be treated for all the purposes of the Tax Acts as if it were a payment of annual interest.

(4) If the transaction is one by which the owner of any securities or other property carrying a right to income (“the owner”) agrees to sell or transfer the property (“the relevant property”), and by the same or any collateral agreement—

(a) the purchaser or transferee (“the buyer”), or a person connected with him, agrees that at a later date he will sell or transfer the same or any other property to the owner or a person connected with him; or

(b) the owner or a person connected with him acquires an option which he subsequently exercises, to buy or acquire the same or any other property from the buyer or a person connected with the buyer;

then, without prejudice to the liability of any other person, the owner shall be chargeable to tax under Case VI of Schedule D on an amount equal to any income which arises from the relevant property at any time before the repayment of the loan or the termination of the credit.

(5) If under the transaction a person assigns, surrenders or otherwise agrees to waive or forego income arising from any property (without a sale or transfer of the property) then, without prejudice to the liability of any other person, he shall be chargeable to tax under Case VI of Schedule D on a sum equal to the amount of income assigned, surrendered, waived or foregone.

(6) If credit is given for the purchase price of any property, and the rights attaching to the property are such that, during the subsistence of the debt, the purchaser’s rights to income from the property are suspended or restricted, he shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (5) above as if he had surrendered a right to income of an amount equivalent to the income which he has in effect foregone by obtaining the credit.

(7) The amount of any income payable subject to deduction of income tax shall be taken for the purposes of subsection (5) above as the amount before deduction of tax.

(8) References in this section to connected persons shall be construed in accordance with section 839.

787 Restriction of relief for payments of interest

(1) Relief shall not be given to any person under any provision of the Tax Acts in respect of any payment of interest if a scheme has been effected or arrangements have been made (whether before or after the time when the payment is made) such that the sole or main benefit that might be expected to accrue to that person from the transaction under which the interest is paid was the obtaining of a reduction in tax liability by means of any such relief.

(2) In this section “relief” means relief by way of deduction in computing profits or gains or deduction or set off against income or total profits.

(3) Where the relief is claimed by virtue of section 403(7) any question under this section as to what benefit might be expected to accrue from the transaction in question shall be determined by reference to the claimant company and the surrendering company taken together.