PART VI

Unit Trusts

31. —(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 15 (settled property), chargeable gains accruing to a unit trust in any year of assessment shall be assessed and charged on the trustees of the unit trust.

(2) The trustees of a unit trust shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as being a single and continuing body of persons (distinct from the persons who may from time to time be the trustees) and that body shall be treated as being resident and ordinarily resident in the State unless the general administration of the unit trust is ordinarily carried on outside the State and the trustees or a majority of them for the time being are not resident or not ordinarily resident in the State.

(3) Where a person receives or becomes entitled to receive in respect of units in a unit trust any capital distribution from the unit trust, he shall be treated as if he had, in consideration of that capital distribution, disposed of an interest in the units.

(4) If throughout a year of assessment all the issued units in a unit trust are assets such that any gain accruing if they were disposed of by the unit holder would be wholly exempt from capital gains tax (otherwise than by reason of residence), gains accruing to the unit trust in that year shall not be chargeable gains.

(5) If throughout a year of assessment all the assets of a unit trust are such that they are not chargeable assets or are assets in respect of which a gain would not be a chargeable gain, the units in the unit trust shall be deemed not to be chargeable assets for the purposes of this Act.

(6) In this section “capital distribution” means any distribution from a unit trust, including a distribution in the course of terminating the unit trust, in money or money's worth except a distribution which in the hands of the recipient constitutes income for the purposes of income tax and in section 32 “distribution of capital” shall be construed in accordance with this definition.

32. —(1) This section shall apply to a unit trust—

(a) which is a registered unit trust scheme within the meaning of section 3 of the Unit Trusts Act, 1972 ,

(b) the trustees of which are resident and ordinarily resident in the State,

(c) the prices of units in which are published regularly by the managers, and

(d) all the units of which are of equal value and carry the same rights.

(2) The Revenue Commissioners may enter into arrangements with the trustees of any unit trust to which this section applies in respect of the year 1974-75 and in respect of any later year of assessment if the following conditions are satisfied—

(a) throughout the relevant year of assessment—

(i) not less than 80 per cent. of the units were held by persons who acquired them pursuant to an offer made to the general public,

(ii) the number of unit holders is not less than 50 and no one unit holder was the beneficial owner of more than 5 per cent. of the units in issue at any time and, for the purposes of this subparagraph, a person and any persons with whom he is connected shall be treated as one unit holder,

(iii) the value of quoted securities held by the trustees on behalf of the unit trust was not less than 80 per cent. by value of the total investments so held by the trustees, and

(iv) the securities held by the trustees on behalf of the unit trust in any one company did not exceed 15 per cent. by value of the total securities so held by the trustees, and

(b) the trustees have—

(i) in respect of each distribution of income or capital of the unit trust to unit holders informed the unit holders of the amount, if any, of the chargeable gains included therein, and

(ii) given to the Revenue Commissioners such particulars of the chargeable gains distributed to each unit holder as they may require.

(3) Any arrangement under this section shall secure that the amount of capital gains tax payable by the unit trust shall be that portion of the amount of tax which, but for the arrangement, would be payable under section 31 for the relevant year of assessment as bears the same proportion to the amount of tax so payable under section 31 as the amount of income and chargeable gains of that year not distributed bears to the total amount of income and chargeable gains of that year.

(4) Any arrangement under this section for any year of assessment shall be made on or before the 5th day of April next following the end of that year and effect shall be given to the arrangement by adjustment of the assessment and if tax has been paid, any amount overpaid shall be repaid.

(5) The Revenue Commissioners may enter into an arrangement under this section with the trustees of a unit trust for any year of assessment notwithstanding that one or more of the conditions stated in subsections (1) and (2) was or were not complied with.

(6) In this section—

“securities” include securities falling within section 19 and stocks, shares, bonds and obligations of any government, municipal corporation, company or other body corporate;

“quoted securities” means securities which at any time during the year of assessment or in the period of six years immediately prior to the year of assessment have had quoted market values on a stock exchange in the State or elsewhere.