CTM08225 | Corporation Tax: management expenses: unallowable purpose - activities within the charge to tax
From HM Revenue & Customs · Company Taxation Manual
The requirement that the activities for the purpose of which investments are held must be within the charge to Corporation Tax (CT) will exclude, for example:
the activities of a non-resident company with a permanent establishment in the UK, to the extent they are not part of the permanent establishment’s activities - an example of this would be where the UK branch of a non-UK resident company pays expenses relating to activities that are not connected with the UK branch;
trading activities outside the scope trading income because they are conducted on a mutual basis;
the provision of services and facilities to its members by a members’ club.
But the test will not be failed just because a company’s investments are such as to generate only:
dividends exempt from CT, or
capital gains that are covered by the substantial shareholdings exemption ( onwards),
capital gains that are exempt under (authorised unit trusts, investment trusts and some other collective investment vehicles), or
a return on investment in a company which itself is not within the charge to CT, for example a subsidiary not resident in the UK.