Listed real estate investment companies (SIIC): regime extended to property leasing and mergers

Article 26 of the 2005 Finance Act adjusts the regime for listed real estate investment companies (Article 208 C of the General Tax Code). The corporate tax exemption, subject to distribution, is extended to income from subletting buildings held under finance leases and to gains on the sale of rights under property finance leases. A merger between two SIICs no longer triggers exit from the regime if the absorbing company takes over the distribution obligations; the merger relief regime applies to SIIC operations (Article 208 C bis), with an exemption of the merger gain subject to distributing 50% of it. A new Article 208 C ter sets out the taxation, spread over four years, of gains on assets that become eligible after the option.