Finance Act 2016

Supplementary welfare payments: Northern Ireland

44 Tax treatment of supplementary welfare payments: Northern Ireland

(1) In this section “supplementary welfare payment” means a payment made under regulations under—

(a) Article 135(1)(a) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2006 (N.I. 1)) (“the Order”) (discretionary support),

(b) Article 137 of the Order (payments to persons suffering financial disadvantage), or

(c) any provision (including future provision) of the Order which enables provision to be made for payments to persons who suffer financial disadvantage as a result of relevant housing benefit changes.

(2) In subsection (1)(c) “relevant housing benefit changes” means changes to social security benefits consisting of or including changes contained in the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. (N.I.) 2016 No. 258).

(3) The Treasury may by regulations amend any provision of Chapters 1 to 5 of Part 10 of ITEPA 2003 so as to—

(a) provide that no liability to income tax arises on supplementary welfare payments of a specified description;

(b) impose a charge to income tax under Part 10 of ITEPA 2003 on payments of a specified description made under regulations under Article 137 of the Order (payments to persons suffering financial disadvantage).

(4) The regulations may make—

(a) different provision for different cases;

(b) incidental or supplementary provision;

(c) consequential provision (which may include provision amending any provision made by or under the Income Tax Acts).

(5) Regulations made before 6 April 2017 may, so far as relating to the tax year 2016-17, have effect in relation to times before they are made.

(6) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.

(7) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.

(8) In section 655(2) of ITEPA 2003 (other provisions about the taxation of social security payments) after the entry relating to section 782 of ITTOIA 2005 insert “;

• section 44 of FA 2016 (tax treatment of supplementary welfare payments: Northern Ireland).”