CHAPTER 2

Corporation tax

21. —(1) Corporation tax shall be charged on the profits of companies at the rate of—

(a) 38 per cent for—

(i) the financial year 1996, and

(ii) that part of the financial year 1997 beginning on the 1st day of January, 1997, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1997,

and

(b) 36 per cent for—

(i) that part of the financial year 1997 beginning on the 1st day of April, 1997, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1997, and

(ii) each subsequent financial year.

(2) The provisions of the Income Tax Acts relating to the charge of income tax shall not apply to income of a company (not arising to it in a fiduciary or representative capacity) if—

(a) the company is resident in the State, or

(b) the income is, in the case of a company not so resident, within the chargeable profits of the company as defined for the purposes of corporation tax.

(3) Subject to section 649 , a company shall not be chargeable to capital gains tax in respect of gains accruing to it so that it is chargeable in respect of them to corporation tax.

22. —(1) (a) Notwithstanding section 21 , so much of the profits of a company for an accounting period as does not exceed the lower of either—

(i) the specified amount in relation to the accounting period, or

(ii) the income of the company for the accounting period,

shall be charged to corporation tax as if the rate of corporation tax for the financial year were—

(I) as respects accounting periods ending before the 1st day of April, 1997, 30 per cent, and

(II) as respects accounting periods ending on or after that date, 28 per cent.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), where an accounting period of a company begins before the 1st day of April, 1997, and ends on or after that day, it shall be divided into 2 parts, one beginning on the day on which the accounting period begins and ending on the 31st day of March, 1997, and the other beginning on the 1st day of April, 1997, and ending on the day on which the accounting period ends, and both parts shall be treated for the purpose of this section as if they were separate accounting periods of the company.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) and subject to subsections (3) and (4), the specified amount in relation to an accounting period of a company shall be an amount determined by the formula—

where—

N is the number of months in the accounting period, and

A is one plus the number of associated companies which the company has in the accounting period.

(3) (a) Where, in the case of a company which has one or more associated companies in an accounting period—

(i) the accounting period of the company ends on a date on which accounting periods of all of the associated companies end, and

(ii) the company and all of the associated companies jointly elect in writing that this subsection shall apply,

then—

(I) the specified amount under subsection (2) shall be computed as if, in relation to the accounting period, the company and all of the associated companies were a single company (with no associated companies) with an accounting period ending on that date and beginning on the earliest date on which the accounting period of the company, or of any of the associated companies, begins, and

(II) the specified amount computed under subparagraph (I) shall be allocated to the accounting period of the company and to the accounting periods of its associated companies in such manner as is specified in the election, and the amount so allocated to a company shall be deemed to be the specified amount in relation to the accounting period of the company.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)—

(i) the aggregate of amounts allocated under subparagraph (II) of that paragraph for an accounting period shall not exceed the specified amount computed under subparagraph (I) of that paragraph, and

(ii) the amount allocated to an accounting period of a company shall not exceed the amount which would have been the specified amount in relation to the accounting period if the company had no associated companies in the accounting period.

(4) Where, in the case of a company which has one or more associated companies in an accounting period, the end of the accounting period of the company and the end of an accounting period of each of its associated companies do not coincide—

(a) subsection (3) shall apply as respects any period (in this subsection referred to as a “relevant period”) which falls in the accounting period of the company and an accounting period of each of the associated companies as if the relevant period were an accounting period of the company and of the associated companies,

(b) the amount allocated to any company in respect of a relevant period shall be deemed to be the specified amount in relation to that period, and

(c) where an amount has been allocated to a company in respect of a relevant period falling in an accounting period of the company, the specified amount for the accounting period of the company shall be the aggregate of—

(i) any specified amounts in relation to relevant periods falling in the accounting period, and

(ii) the amounts which would be the specified amounts in relation to any periods (which are not relevant periods) within the accounting period if each of those periods was treated as an accounting period;

but the specified amount in relation to an accounting period of a company shall not exceed the amount which would be the specified amount in relation to the accounting period if the company had no associated companies in the accounting period.

(5) (a) In this subsection, “control” shall be construed in accordance with section 432 .

(b) In applying this section to any accounting period of a company, an associated company which—

(i) has not carried on any trade or business at any time in that accounting period or, if an associated company during part only of that accounting period, at any time in that part of that accounting period, or

(ii) has no income within the charge to corporation tax in the State in the accounting period,

shall be disregarded and, for the purposes of this section, a company shall be treated as an associated company of another company at a particular time if at that time one of the 2 companies has control of the other company or both companies are under the control of the same person or persons.

(6) In determining how many associated companies a company has in an accounting period or whether a company has an associated company in an accounting period, an associated company shall be counted even if it was an associated company for part only of the accounting period, and 2 or more associated companies shall be counted even if they were associated companies for different parts of the accounting period.

(7) For the purposes of this section, the income of a company for an accounting period shall be taken to be an amount determined by the formula—

I − M

where—

I is the amount of the company's profits for the accounting period on which corporation tax falls finally to be borne exclusive of the part of the profits attributed to chargeable gains, and that part shall be taken to be the amount brought into the company's profits for that period for the purposes of corporation tax in respect of chargeable gains before any deduction for charges on income, expenses of management or other amounts which can be deducted from or set against or treated as reducing profits of more than one description, and

M is the amount of the company's income from the sale of goods for the purpose of section 448 .

(8) (a) A company shall include in the return required to be delivered under section 951 —

(i) a statement specifying—

(I) the amount of its profits to be charged to corporation tax at the rate specified in subsection (1), and

(II) the number of companies which are its associated companies in relation to the accounting period,

and

(ii) a copy of any election made under subsection (3) or (4).

(b) A company which has specified an amount under paragraph (a) shall not be entitled to alter the amount so specified.

23. — Section 13 shall apply for the purposes of corporation tax as it applies for the purposes of income tax.

24. —(1) No payment made by a company resident in the State shall by virtue of this section or otherwise be treated for any purpose of the Income Tax Acts as paid out of profits or gains brought into charge to income tax, nor shall any right or obligation under the Income Tax Acts to deduct income tax from any payment be affected by the fact that the recipient is a company not chargeable to income tax in respect of the payment.

(2) Subject to the Corporation Tax Acts, where a company resident in the State receives any payment on which it bears income tax by deduction, the income tax on that payment shall be set off against any corporation tax assessable on the company by an assessment made for the accounting period in which that payment is to be taken into account for corporation tax (or would be taken into account but for any exemption from corporation tax), and accordingly in respect of that payment the company, unless wholly exempt from corporation tax, shall not be entitled to a repayment of income tax before the assessment for that accounting period is finally determined and it appears that a repayment is due.

(3) References in this section to payments received by a company apply to any payments received by another person on behalf of or in trust for the company, but not to any payments received by the company on behalf of or in trust for another person.

25. —(1) A company not resident in the State shall not be within the charge to corporation tax unless it carries on a trade in the State through a branch or agency, but if it does so it shall, subject to any exceptions provided for by the Corporation Tax Acts, be chargeable to corporation tax on all its chargeable profits wherever arising.

(2) For the purposes of corporation tax, the chargeable profits of a company not resident in the State but carrying on a trade in the State through a branch or agency shall be—

(a) any trading income arising directly or indirectly through or from the branch or agency, and any income from property or rights used by, or held by or for, the branch or agency, but this paragraph shall not include distributions received from companies resident in the State, and

(b) such chargeable gains as but for the Corporation Tax Acts would be chargeable to capital gains tax in the case of a company not resident in the State;

but such chargeable profits shall not include chargeable gains accruing to the company on the disposal of assets which, at or before the time when the chargeable gains accrued, were not used in or for the purposes of the trade and were not used or held or acquired for the purposes of the branch or agency.

(3) Subject to section 729 , where a company not resident in the State receives any payment on which it bears income tax by deduction, and that payment forms part of, or is to be taken into account in computing, the company's income chargeable to corporation tax, the income tax on that payment shall be set off against any corporation tax assessable on that income by an assessment made for the accounting period in which the payment is to be taken into account for corporation tax, and accordingly in respect of that payment the company shall not be entitled to a repayment of income tax before the assessment for that accounting period is finally determined and it appears that a repayment is due.

26. —(1) Subject to any exceptions provided for by the Corporation Tax Acts, a company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on all its profits wherever arising.

(2) A company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on profits accruing for its benefit under any trust, or arising under any partnership, in any case in which it would be so chargeable if the profits accrued to it directly, and a company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on profits arising in the winding up of the company, but shall not otherwise be chargeable to corporation tax on profits accruing to it in a fiduciary or representative capacity except as respects its own beneficial interest (if any) in those profits.

(3) Corporation tax for any financial year shall be charged on profits arising in that year; but assessments to corporation tax shall be made on a company by reference to accounting periods, and the amount chargeable (after making all proper deductions) of the profits arising in an accounting period shall where necessary be apportioned between the financial years in which the accounting period falls.

(4) Subsection (3) shall apply as respects accounting periods ending on or after the 1st day of April, 1997, as if—

(a) the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1996, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1997, and

(b) the period beginning on the 1st day of April, 1997, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1998,

were each a financial year.

27. —(1) Except where otherwise provided by the Corporation Tax Acts, corporation tax shall be assessed and charged for any accounting period of a company on the full amount of the profits arising in that period (whether or not received in or remitted to the State) without any deduction other than one authorised by the Corporation Tax Acts.

(2) An accounting period of a company shall begin for the purposes of corporation tax whenever—

(a) the company, not then being within the charge to corporation tax, comes within it whether by the coming into force of any provision of the Corporation Tax Acts, or by the company becoming resident in the State or acquiring a source of income, or otherwise, or

(b) an accounting period of the company ends without the company then ceasing to be within the charge to corporation tax.

(3) An accounting period of a company shall end for the purposes of corporation tax on the first occurrence of any of the following—

(a) the expiration of 12 months from the beginning of the accounting period,

(b) an accounting date of the company or, if there is a period for which the company does not make up accounts, the end of that period,

(c) the company beginning or ceasing to trade or to be, in respect of the trade or (if more than one) of all the trades carried on by it, within the charge to corporation tax,

(d) the company beginning or ceasing to be resident in the State, and

(e) the company ceasing to be within the charge to corporation tax.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a company resident in the State, if not otherwise within the charge to corporation tax, shall be treated as coming within the charge to corporation tax at the time when it commences to carry on business.

(5) Where a company carrying on more than one trade makes up accounts of any of those trades to different dates and does not make up general accounts for the whole of the company's activities, subsection (3) (b) shall apply with reference to the accounting date of such one of the trades as the Revenue Commissioners may determine.

(6) Where a chargeable gain or allowable loss accrues to a company at a time not otherwise within an accounting period of the company, an accounting period of the company shall then begin for the purposes of corporation tax and the gain or loss shall accrue in that accounting period.

(7) (a) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1) to (6), where a company is wound up, an accounting period shall end and a new one shall begin with the commencement of the winding up, and thereafter an accounting period shall not end otherwise than by the expiration of 12 months from its beginning or by the completion of the winding up.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), a winding up shall be taken to commence on the passing by the company of a resolution for the winding up of the company, or on the presentation of a winding up petition if no such resolution has previously been passed and a winding up order is made on the petition, or on the doing of any other act for a like purpose in the case of a winding up otherwise than under the Companies Act, 1963.

(8) Where it appears to the inspector that the beginning or end of any accounting period of a company is uncertain, he or she may make an assessment on the company for such a period, not exceeding 12 months, as appears to him or her appropriate, and that period shall be treated for all purposes as an accounting period of the company unless—

(a) the inspector on further facts coming to his or her knowledge sees fit to revise it, or

(b) on an appeal against the assessment in respect of some other matter, the company shows the true accounting periods,

and, if on an appeal against an assessment made by virtue of this subsection the company shows the true accounting periods, the assessment appealed against shall, as regards the period to which it relates, have effect as an assessment or assessments for the true accounting periods, and such other assessments may be made for any such periods or any of them as might have been made at the time when the assessment appealed against was made.