Note: The presentation that accompanied this paper was previously delivered at a Bi-Monthly event "Family Trust Elections" on 23 September 2008. The presentation can be downloaded from that event and is not repeated here.
The use of trusts has increased exponentially due to their flexibility from asset protection, commercial and tax perspectives. This paper focuses on issues associated with differing trust types and Family Trust Elections in light of the recent abandonment of the proposed roll-back of the 2007 legislative amendments.
Consideration is given to Family Trust Elections and Interposed Entity Elections in the context of both the trust loss and simplified imputation rules. Case studies and examples illustrate:
- the relevance of the type of trust
- when Family Trust Elections are (and are not) required
- intricacies of the various tests (particularly for family trusts)
- various tests including the income injection test
- strategies for approaching Family Trust Election issues.