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Finance Bill - continued        House of Commons
PART III, INCOME TAX AND CORPORATION TAX - continued
Capital allowances for small and medium-sized businesses - continued
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Expenditure of a small company or small business.     43. - (1) After section 22 of the Capital Allowances Act 1990 there shall be inserted the following section-
 
 
"Expenditure of a small company or small business.     22A. - (1) For the purposes of section 22 capital expenditure incurred by a company is capital expenditure incurred by a small company if the company-
 
    (a) qualifies as small or medium-sized in relation to the financial year of the company in which the expenditure is incurred; and
 
    (b) is not a member of a large group at the time when the expenditure is incurred.
      (2) For the purposes of section 22, capital expenditure is capital expenditure incurred by a small business if-
 
 
    (a) it is incurred by a business for the purposes of a trade (the `first trade') carried on by that business; and
 
    (b) were the first trade carried on by a company (the `hypothetical company') in the circumstances set out in subsection (3) below, that company would qualify as small or medium-sized in relation to the financial year of that company in which the expenditure would be treated as incurred.
      (3) Those circumstances are-
 
 
    (a) that every trade, profession or vocation carried on by the business concerned is carried on by the business as a part of the first trade;
 
    (b) that the financial years of the hypothetical company coincide with the chargeable periods of the business concerned; and
 
    (c) that accounts of the hypothetical company for any relevant chargeable period were prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 1985 as if that period were a financial year of the company.
      (4) Subject to subsection (5) below, a company is a member of a large group at the time when any expenditure is incurred if -
 
 
    (a) it is at that time the parent company of a group which does not qualify as small or medium-sized in relation to the financial year of the parent company in which that time falls; or
 
    (b) it is at that time a subsidiary undertaking in relation to the parent company of such a group.
      (5) If, at the time when any expenditure is incurred by any company any arrangements exist which are such that, had effect been given to them immediately before that time, the company or a successor of the company would, at that time, have been a member of a large group, this section shall have effect as if the company concerned was a member of a large group at that time.
 
      (6) In this section-
 
 
    `arrangements' means arrangements of any kind, whether in writing or not, including arrangements that are not legally enforceable;
 
    `business' means-
 
      (a) an individual; or
 
      (b) a partnership of which all the members are individuals;
 
    `company' means-
 
      (a) a company, or an oversea company, within the meaning of the Companies Act 1985; or
 
      (b) a company, or a Part XXIII company, within the meaning of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;
 
    `financial year', `group', `parent company' and `subsidiary undertaking'-
 
      (a) except in relation to a company formed and registered in Northern Ireland, have the same meanings as in Part VII of the Companies Act 1985; and
 
      (b) in relation to a company so formed and registered, have the same meanings as in Part VIII of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.
      (7) References in this section, in relation to a company, to its qualifying as small or medium-sized-
 
 
    (a) except in the case of a company formed and registered in Northern Ireland, are references to its so qualifying, or being treated as so qualifying, for the purposes of section 247 of the Companies Act 1985; and
 
    (b) in the case of a company so formed and registered, are references to its so qualifying, or being treated as so qualifying, for the purposes of Article 255 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.
      (8) In relation to a company with respect to which the question arises whether it is or would be a member of a large group, references to a group's qualifying as small or medium-sized-
 
 
    (a) except in the case of a company formed and registered in Northern Ireland, are references to its so qualifying, or being treated as so qualifying, for the purposes of section 249 of the Companies Act 1985; and
 
    (b) in the case of a company so formed and registered, are references to its so qualifying, or being treated as so qualifying, for the purposes of Article 257 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.
      (9) For the purposes of this section a company is the successor of another if-
 
 
    (a) it carries on a trade which, in whole or in part, the other company has ceased to carry on; and
 
    (b) the circumstances are such that section 343 of the principal Act applies in relation to the two companies as the predecessor and the successor within the meaning of that section."
      (2) This section shall have effect in relation to every chargeable period ending on or after 2nd July 1997.
 
 
Capital allowances and finance leases
Writing-down allowances for finance lessors.     44. - (1) Section 25 of the Capital Allowances Act 1990 (qualifying expenditure for writing-down allowances) shall be amended as follows.
 
      (2) After subsection (5) there shall be inserted the following subsections-
 
 
    "(5A) Subject to subsection (5B) below, capital expenditure incurred by any person in any chargeable period on the provision of machinery or plant for leasing under a finance lease shall not be brought into account so as to form part of that person's qualifying expenditure for that period except to the extent of the part of the expenditure which is proportionate to the part of the chargeable period falling after the time when the expenditure was incurred.
 
      (5B) Subsection (5A) above does not apply where, in the chargeable period related to the incurring of the expenditure, the disposal value of the machinery or plant falls to be brought into account in accordance with section 24(6).
 
      (5C) Where under subsection (5A) above only part of any capital expenditure on the provision of any machinery or plant may be included in a person's qualifying expenditure for any chargeable period, subsection (1)(a)(i) above shall not prevent the whole or any part of the remainder of that expenditure from being included in his qualifying expenditure for the next following chargeable period."
 
      (3) In subsection (6) (disposal values brought into account on an assignment)-
 
 
    (a) for the words "subsection (5) above", in the first place where they occur, there shall be substituted "subsection (5) or (5B) above"; and
 
    (b) for ", as modified by subsection (5) above," there shall be substituted "(as modified, where subsection (5) above applies, by that subsection)".
      (4) In subsection (8) (adjustments), after "subsections (5)" there shall be inserted ", (5B)".
 
      (5) This section has effect for chargeable periods ending on or after 2nd July 1997 except in relation to-
 
 
    (a) expenditure incurred before that date; and
 
    (b) expenditure incurred in the twelve months beginning with that date in pursuance of a contract entered into before that date.
Hire-purchase by finance lessors.     45. - (1) In section 60 of the Capital Allowances Act 1990 (machinery and plant on hire-purchase), after subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsection-
 
 
    "(2A) Subsections (1)(b) and (2)(b) above do not apply where the capital expenditure incurred by the person to whom the machinery or plant is treated as belonging under subsection (1)(a) was incurred on the provision of the machinery or plant for leasing under a finance lease."
 
      (2) This section has effect for chargeable periods ending on or after 2nd July 1997 except in relation to-
 
 
    (a) expenditure incurred before that date; and
 
    (b) expenditure incurred in the twelve months beginning with that date in pursuance of a contract entered into before that date.
 
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Prepared 4 July 1997