Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Act 2007 (143 of 2007)

Schedule 1   New foreign income tax offset rules

Part 4   Consequential and other amendments

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936

88   After section 334

Insert:

334A Voting interests in companies

(1) For the purposes of this section, a company is taken to have a voting interest in another company if:

(a) the first-mentioned company is the beneficial owner of shares (other than eligible finance shares or widely distributed finance shares) in the other company that carry the right to exercise any of the voting power in the other company; and

(b) there is no arrangement in force at the relevant time by virtue of which any person is in a position, or may become in a position, to affect that right;

and the extent of the voting interest is taken to be the total number of votes that, by virtue of that right, can be cast on a poll at, or arising out of, a general meeting of the other company as regards all questions that could be submitted to such a poll.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a person is taken to be in a position to affect a right of a company if that person has a right, power or option (whether by virtue of any provision in the constituent document of any company or by virtue of any agreement or instrument or otherwise) to acquire that right or do an act or thing that would prevent the first-mentioned company from exercising that right or receiving any benefits accruing by reason of that right.

(3) Despite paragraph (1)(b) and subsection (2), in determining for the purposes of this section:

(a) whether a company has a voting interest in another company; and

(b) the extent of that interest;

any appointment of a liquidator in respect of the other company is to be disregarded.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the voting power in a company is the maximum number of votes that can be cast on a poll at, or arising out of, a general meeting of a company as regards all questions that can be submitted to such a poll.

(5) In this section, arrangement includes:

(a) any agreement, arrangement, understanding, promise or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, and whether or not enforceable, or intended to be enforceable, by legal proceedings; and

(b) any scheme, plan, proposal, action, course of action or course of conduct, whether unilateral or otherwise.