Clause 2 - Effect of notice under s. 1
Social Security Contributions
11:30 am
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 21, in page 3, line 6, after `(a)', add `not manifestly less than'.
The amendment is designed to deal with a technical point rather than a point of principle. The liability on share options is defined in section 135 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 by reference to the gain reasonably expected to be made. Other taxation provisions—the approved options in section 9 to the 1988 Act—refer to an amount not manifestly less than market value. However, the Bill implies a need for pinpoint accuracy that exceeds the normal requirement in exercising an option on national insurance contribution liability, especially in respect of unlisted companies. In that regard, the amendment is designed to put the Bill in line with other relevant tax statutes.