ENTITLEMENT TO ALLOWANCES FOR MACHINERY AND PLANT WHICH ARE FIXTURES (Hansard, 10 July 1985)

§ Mr. Moore

I beg to move amendment No. 38, in page 56, line 42, at end insert— '(8) Nothing in subsection (1) above affects the entitlement of any person to an allowance by virtue of section 85 of the Capital Allowances Act 1968 (allowances in respect of contributions of a capital nature) and, accordingly, in paragraph 15(6) of Schedule 8 to the Finance Act 1971 (modification of the operation of section 85 in relation to allowances for machinery and plant) after the words "the said Chapter I", where they last occur, there shall be inserted "or Schedule 15 to the Finance Act 1985".'. This deals with a matter discussed in Committee in consideration of amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) and my hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr. Hamilton). We have looked closely at the problem identified by that discussion, and the amendment is the result.

As it stands, clause 57 allows only the person to whom fixtures are treated by schedule 15 as belonging to receive capital allowances on those fixtures. However, it has been put to us that this could upset long-established methods of commercial funding where, for example, one company contributes to the capital expenditure incurred by another on machinery or plant which is a fixture, and in which both have a commercial interest. The amendment will allow these arrangements to continue to be made unaffected by the clause and its schedules.

While commending it to the House, I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Tatton and the hon. Member for Sedgefield for their diligence in ensuring that we had the benefit of their advice.