Cap. 123 Art. 27GTransfers of property by listed companies.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the Income Tax Acts or any rules or regulations made thereunder, the provisions of this article shall apply to any person that has elected under article 5A(3)(j), by means of a declaration made in accordance with the said article, to exclude the transfer of immovable property from the scope of article 5A.

(2) Income derived during the year preceding the year of assessment from the transfer of immovable property forming part of a project, in respect of which an election under article 5A(3)(j) has been made, shall be deemed to constitute separate chargeable income to be taxed separately at the rate of thirty-five cents (€0.35) on every euro. For the purpose of this article, where a person owns more than one project each project shall be deemed to constitute a separate and distinct source of income.

(3) The provisional tax payment as referred to in article 43(1)(b) of the Income Tax Management Act shall be equivalent to 8% of the consideration relating to the transfer of the property forming part of the project: Provided that in the case where the said property was acquired by the transferor before the 1st January, 2004 the said provisional tax payment shall be equivalent to 10% of the said consideration.

(4) Provisional tax paid referred to in sub-article (3), during or in respect of the year preceding any year of assessment, shall be set-off for the purposes of collection against the tax charged on the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2), and in respect of the said year of assessment, and if there is an excess after the aforesaid set-off has been made, such excess shall be set-off for the purposes of collection against the tax charged on other sources of income, as may be allowed under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, in respect of the said year of assessment, and if there is an excess after the aforesaid set-off has been made, such excess shall be refunded in accordance with the provisions of article 48 of the Income Tax Management Act: Provided that an amount of provisional tax paid during or in respect of the year preceding any year of assessment as determined by the following formula (hereinafter referred to as "unutilised provisional tax"), shall not be available for set-off against the tax charge in respect of other sources of income as aforesaid and shall not be available for refund for any purposes of the Income Tax Acts:

Unutilised provisional tax = (0.625 x A) - B Where -

(i) ''A'' is the total provisional tax paid as referred to in sub-article (3), during or in respect of the year preceding any year of assessment; and

(ii) ''B'' is the tax charged on the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2), and in respect of the same year of assessment: Provided further that where the amount determined in accordance with the said formula is a negative amount, such amount shall be taken to be zero.

(5) Unutilised provisional tax for any year of assessment shall be carried forward to subsequent years of assessment, and set-off for the purpose of collection only against the tax charged on the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2) for subsequent years of assessment: Provided that the maximum amount that shall be available for set-off as aforesaid in any subsequent year of assessment shall not exceed an amount determined by the following formula:

Y = C - D Where -

(i) ''Y'' represents the amount to be determined;

(ii) ''C'' is the tax charged on the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2) in respect of the particular subsequent year of assessment; and

(iii) ''D'' is the total provisional tax paid as referred to in sub-article (3), during or in respect of the year preceding the same year of assessment: Provided that where the amount determined in accordance with the said formula is a negative amount, such amount shall be taken to be zero.

(6) The amount of a loss, computed as provided in sub-article (7), incurred by a person during the year preceding the year of assessment from the transfer of immovable property forming part of a project as referred to in sub-article (2), which, if it had been a profit, would have been assessable under this Act, shall not be set off against capital gains or income from other sources, including income derived from the transfer of immovable property forming part of other projects, for the year preceding the year of assessment or any subsequent years of assessment, and shall not be treated as an allowable loss for the purpose of the group relief provisions, but shall be carried forward and set off only against what would otherwise have been the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2) for subsequent years in succession.

(7) In computing the loss referred to in sub-article (6), account shall be taken of all deductions wholly and exclusively incurred in the production of the income referred to in sub-article (2), which would have been allowable under the paragraphs of article 14(1), except paragraphs (f), (g) and (j), if it had been a profit.

(8) For the purpose of ascertaining the chargeable income referred to in sub-article (2), subject to sub-article (6), no losses provided for under article 14(1)(g), whether arising before election from the source to which this article applies, or from any other source, or claimed under the group relief provisions, shall be allowable as a deduction against the said income.

(9) No person in receipt of a dividend distributed out of profits charged to tax under sub-article (2) shall be entitled to a refund or set-off of the tax paid by the company distributing the said dividend. For the purpose of this sub-article where the person in receipt of the said dividend is another company such dividend shall be deemed to be profits charged to tax under sub-article (2).

(10) Every company registered in Malta shall allocate the distributable profits derived from transfers to which this article applies, and on which tax is payable in accordance with this article, to the final tax account. The said distributable profits shall be determined in such manner as may be prescribed.