Taxation of Trusts  – Part 1: Beneficiary Income and Complying Trust Status

Many clients utilise trusts to hold income-earning assets and investments. The Income Tax Act 2007 includes specific rules on how trusts are classified and how trust income and distributions are taxed.The focus of this webinar will be on taxation issues associated with beneficiary income and ensuring your client’s trust maintains complying trust status.

Issues examined will include:

• When can deemed income under tax law, e.g., foreign investment fund (FIF) income, be distributed to beneficiaries?
• How do the timing rules around beneficiary income work?
• How are tax credits allocated to beneficiaries?
• What types of trustee income prevent a trust from being a complying trust?
• Who is a settlor for tax purposes?
• What happens when the trust’s settlor, trustees, or beneficiaries become non-resident?

Taxation of Trusts – Part 2: Distributions and Trustee Tax Rate Change

Many clients utilise trusts to hold income-earning assets and investments. The Income Tax Act 2007 includes specific rules on how trusts are classified and on how trust income and distributions are taxed.The focus of this webinar will be on taxation issues associated with distributions from complying, foreign, and non-complying trusts. It will also consider the impending increase in the trustee tax rate to 39%.

Issues examined will include:

• How are distributions of trust assets treated, from an income tax and GST perspective?
• How are distributions from foreign trusts and foreign inheritances taxed?
• What considerations are there when paying dividends to trusts before the increase in the trustee tax rate?
• What guidance Inland Revenue has provided on what is considered legitimate and illegitimate restructuring of trust activities, in the lead-up to the tax rate change?

Suitable for:

• Accountants and lawyers who act for trusts
• Accountants and lawyers who are trustees of trusts and want to ensure the trust is meeting its tax obligations.