Shareholder dividends & Income tax

[eggsnbacon]

The answer is probably very straightforward, but I would be very grateful if someone could answer the following questions.

1) Company A, with two equal shareholders, declares a dividend of £200,000 for the Year Ending 31/12/2013.
2) Shareholder B takes his dividend in January 2014.
3) Shareholder C takes his dividend in January 2016.

Question 1: Is income tax payable by a shareholder on dividends payable in the financial year in which it is declared by a company, or when the shareholder actually takes the dividend?
In which case, in the scenario above, Shareholder B would pay income tax on the dividend taken in the YE 5/4/2014; but Shareholder C would not pay income tax on the dividend until YE 5/4/16.

Question 2: Is there any reason why a shareholder cannot choose to leave dividends which have been declared by a company with the company, and draw them in later years?

Thanks very much.

[pawncob]

Dividends must be paid within 9 months of the year end, so the scenario proposed would not arise.
https://www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk/blog/issue-dividends/

[robbob]

The dividend has been voted at one distinct time point - so the tax point date must be the same for both individuals - unless the company has different classes of shares that would enable different dividend voting strategies.

Note its fine to vote the dividend , allocate the dividend against the directors loan (presuming they are directors) and draw the funds two years later - so the direct answer to Q2 is yes this is fine - but the dividend is effectively fully paid at the earlier date and the later withdrawal will be a draw down of directors loan.

Note in theory dividends can be waived which could possibly be a workaround, but that's a route that has some very practical issues that probably mean that option is a non starter.

[eggsnbacon]

Thanks very much pawncob and robbob. That's very helpful.