Commentary on Sections Structure of Chapters Overview Section 376: Authorised unit trust interest distributions
1521.This section and the two sections that follow provide investors, who are liable to income tax, with the information required to determine their taxable income from the authorised unit trust (AUT). The tax provisions relevant to the AUT are not in this Act. This is because the AUT trustees are treated as a company liable to corporation tax under section 468(1)(a) of ICTA.
1522.This section is based on section 468L of ICTA which is part of the special tax rules for AUTs. These rules provide that AUTs are treated for tax purposes as though all of the money shown in their distribution accounts, as available for distribution or in the case of investors holding accumulation units, for adding to the capital value of their share of the fund, is actually paid out to unit holders. This means that the investors are taxed when they receive the benefit of the distribution made by the AUT rather than when they sell their units.
1523.The investors are treated as receiving a payment of interest or a dividend depending on how the AUT has allocated the money in its accounts. There are various rules which determine how and when this allocation can be made by the AUT.
1524.The amounts treated as interest are charged to tax by section 369 and are subject to the deduction of tax rules in section 349 of ICTA as amended by section 468L(4) of ICTA. The amounts treated as dividends are dealt with in section 389.