21 Provisions for
liabilities and charges
At 31 December 2001 the full amount of surplus ACT previously written
off, available for offset against future UK profits, was £22.7 million
(2000: £18.5 million) before allowing for amounts set against deferred
tax liabilities of £2.6 million (2000: £nil million).
Provision is not made for any tax liability on capital gains which might
arise on the disposal of subsidiary and associated undertakings at the
amounts at which they are stated in the balance sheets. In the event of
a distribution of the reserves of certain overseas subsidiary undertakings,
additional liabilities to UK and overseas tax might arise. Such potential
deferred tax liabilities have not been provided because there is no current
intention to remit these reserves.
No account is taken in the figures disclosed above of amounts which would
arise had FRS17 ’Retirement Benefits’ been adopted in full in 2001.
FRS19 ’Deferred Tax’ will be implemented in 2002. This requires deferred
tax to be accounted for on a full provision basis. At 31 December 2001
the effect of this would be to increase the deferred tax provision by
approximately £1.0 million after the offset of an additional £4.6 million
of ACT carried forward. The impact of FRS19 on the tax credit for the
year would have been a £0.5 million reduction comprising an underlying
current year credit of £7.3 million offset by a prior year adjustment
charge of £7.5 million and an exceptional charge of £0.3 million.
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