TCA puts its trust in an attentive Government

Trustee companies are confident their protests over certain types of trusts will not fall on deaf ears in the Federal Government when con-sidering Ralph Review proposals to tax trusts as companies.

Trustee companies are confident their protests over certain types of trusts will not fall on deaf ears in the Federal Government when con-sidering Ralph Review proposals to tax trusts as companies.

Trustee Corporations Association (TCA) president Peter Williams says he is confident the government will listen to concerns over trusts set up for minors, charitable bodies and compensation victims.

The Ralph Review of Business Taxation is currently examining how trusts should be taxed, following concerns that many trusts are set up merely as tax avoidance vehicles. The federal government set out to deal with these concerns by proposing to tax all trusts as if they were companies.

But the TCA says many trusts are set up to achieve purposes that are not tax-driven.

"We believe that these were victims of an unintended consequence," Williams says.

In its submission to the Ralph committee, the TCAA argues that the following are legitimate, and not tax-driven, uses of trusts:

- protecting the interests of minors, especially orphans, under a will,

- protecting the long-term interests of disabled people,

- protecting the proceeds of court cases arising from workers compen-sation and criminal injury matters,

- protecting the interests of minors resulting from compensation as a result of personal injury claims, and

- charitable trusts, set up for the benefit of recognised charitable purposes.

The TCA says it is frustrated by the lack of response from the fed-eral government to its concerns.

"Consultation continues to be an alien process to the government," says TCA national director Kerrie Kelly.

However, the association believes it has support from opposition parties and that the government will see the sense in amending its proposals.