Commentary on Sections Example 3 Ne = £5,000; Da = 183; De = 183; Smg = 0 Section 615: Certain overseas government pensions paid in the United Kingdom
2449.This section derives from paragraph 4 of Schedule E (section 19(1) and section 133(2) of ICTA).
2450.Paragraph 4 of Schedule E imposes a charge on certain pensions paid by or on behalf of overseas governments to United Kingdom residents. It refers to a “pension or annuity”. As in paragraph 2 of Schedule E “annuity” is used here in the sense of a regular income payment rather than a purchased annuity. The word “pension” has a wide meaning. An annuity taxed by paragraph 4 of Schedule E is within that meaning. It is not necessary for this Act to rewrite the reference to annuities.
2451.Subsection (2) identifies the categories of person to whom the pension must be paid. The effect of the Interpretation Act 1978 is that “widow” includes “widower”. The subsection incorporates this effect. The pension must be payable in respect of overseas government service.
2452.Subsection (4) identifies the countries covered by the section. It does this by reference to other legislation. In December 2002 the countries covered were:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, St Helena, St Helena Dependencies (Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands.
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
2453.The section does not identify the individual countries. This is because it would then be necessary to amend primary tax legislation to take account of any changes. A recent example is Hong Kong’s change of status. The section follows the pragmatic approach of ICTA.
2454.Subsection (5) prevents the section applying to payments made by the United Kingdom government. The phrase “public revenue of the United Kingdom” is retained because it has a settled technical meaning. It means a payment out of the United Kingdom Consolidated Fund. The reference to Northern Ireland is needed because there is also a Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.
2455.Subsection (6) defines “overseas government service”. It derives from the definition of “relevant service” in paragraph 4 of Schedule E (section 19(1) of ICTA).
2456.Subsection (7) derives from section 133(2) of ICTA. That section extends the charge on pensions taxed under Schedule E to voluntary pensions. Section 133(2) applies to these overseas government pensions if any are paid on a voluntary basis.