Govt commits to trusts clarity
The Federal Government has signalled it will be proceeding with new legislation changing the rules relating to trusts, even though it knows they will not resolve matters recently dealt with by the High Court.
The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten (pictured), made the Government’s intentions clear when he released a discussion paper dealing with the legislative changes.
He said the discussion paper was a the result of recommendations from the Board of Taxation, and addressed better aligning the concept of “income of the trust estate” with “net income of the trust estate” and enabling the streaming of capital gains and franked distributions.
Shorten said the changes would apply to the current financial year and later income years.
The minister claimed it was necessary to implement the changes flowing from the Board of Taxation recommendations so businesses and individuals using trusts could do so with confidence.
Shorten said the Government was aware that the interim changes would not resolve all the issues but the Government remained committed to a broader update and rewrite of Australia’s trust taxation laws.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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