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| STEP Slams 'Misinformed' Austrian Attack On Trusts |
by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com
Friday, November 27, 2009
Ahead of a key meeting of European Union Finance Ministers, the Society
of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) wrote to the Austrian Finance Minister
pointing out that remarks attributed to him in the press suggest that he is "seriously
misinformed" about the role of trusts and how they are used in planning family
finances.
According to STEP, Pröll has been widely reported as suggesting that Austria
and Luxembourg would veto proposed changes to the EU Savings Tax Directive at
next week’s ECOFIN meeting unless action was taken against trusts. He
alleged that trusts allow investors, particularly in the Channel Islands, to
remain anonymous.
“Channel Island trusts are already included in the revised EU Savings
Tax Directive and any suggestion that they are anonymous is totally untrue,”
commented STEP Chief Executive David Harvey, continuing:
“Trusts are private, like
a bank account or credit card statements, but they are certainly not secret.
Information on the source, owners and beneficiaries of trust funds is collected
and, where appropriate, exchanged across borders.”
“It would be unfortunate if misinformed comments about the use of trusts
overseas threatened the ability of UK families to make clear long term plans
about their financial affairs and provide vital support to many major charities
around the world,” added Mr Harvey.
STEP points out that trusts are widely used around the world as a secure way
of holding and managing assets for people not ready and able to manage them
themselves - for example, to provide for a husband or wife after the death of
their spouse while protecting the interests of children.
The Society also emphasizes that the Channel Islands require trust professionals
to keep accurate records of those involved in setting up a trust and make that
information available to the authorities when required.
Furthermore, STEP highlights, the Channel Islands also have a strong track
record of participating positively in initiatives to target tax evasion and
other forms of criminal activity and have been members of the OECD’s ‘white
list’ of co-operative jurisdictions since its inception.
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