IHTM27121 - Foreign property: inscribed and registered securities: usual location

The situs of an asset is important for Inheritance Tax and this includes securities. The situs of an asset is decided by caselaw, statute and occasionally double taxation treaties, agreements or conventions (IHTM04251)

For the purposes of Inheritance Tax an inscribed and registered security (a shareholding in a Company, for example) is located at the place where the title of ownership must be registered - see Att Gen v Higgins [1857] 2H and N 339.

It makes no difference that the business of the company is totally administered outside the country in which the register is kept: see Baelz v Public Trustee [1926] Ch 863.

The situs of shares can be affected by various factors such as

  • whether a branch register is kept (IHTM27122),
  • the effectiveness of the register itself (IHTM27123)
  • overseas branch registers of UK companies (IHTM27124)
  • duplicate or multiple registers of non UK companies (IHTM27125)
  • Canadian Companies: transfer agencies (IHTM27127)
  • Canadian Companies: branch registers of British Colombian and Newfoundland Companies (IHTM27128)