Sir Michael Shawasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any proposals for legislation to facilitate arrangements under which employees can acquire units in an authorised unit trust scheme by means of deduction from salary made by their employer.
§ Mr. MooreYes. We would welcome schemes of this sort as a general contribution to wider share ownership. As matters stand, however, units acquired by an employee in these circumstances can potentially be subject to an income tax charge on the growth in their value after acquisition under section 79 of the Finance Act 1972. We propose to provide an appropriate exemption from this charge in next year's Finance Bill. The exemption will apply to units acquired under such schemes on or after 6 April 1984. In the meantime, the Inland Revenue will be discussing the conditions for it with the Unit Trust Association and the Association of Corporate Trustees.