Capital gains on shares in unlisted real-estate companies taxed at the standard corporate tax rate

Article 26 of the 2008 Finance Act removes from the long-term capital gains regime the sale of shares in unlisted real-estate-dominated companies by companies subject to corporate income tax from 26 September 2007: these gains are now taxed at the standard 33.33% rate instead of the reduced 15% rate. A company is real-estate-dominated when more than 50% of its assets consist of buildings (excluding those used for its own operations) or shares in other such companies. Earlier long-term capital losses on these shares remain deductible in a 15/33.33 proportion. For listed real-estate companies, long-term gains are taxed at the rate in Article 219 IV for financial years beginning on or after 31 December 2007.