Recent Changes in Switzerland and Italy Affecting Trusts
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Stop Press - Recent changes in Switzerland and Italy affecting trusts 01 JANUARY 2007 CATEGORY: ARTICLE 2006 will be remembered in the UK mostly for the earthquake provoked by the Finance Act 2006. However, two other major developments have characterised the international landscape at the end of last year, notably the decision by the Swiss Parliament to ratify the Hague Trust Convention and the introduction in Italy of new tax rules affecting trusts. Switzerland: the quiet revolution rolls on The long awaited decision by the Swiss Parliament to ratify the Convention nally arrived on 20 December. In a nutshell, the Swiss Parliament has accepted the government’s proposals without any modications. As a result, the new law: (a) authorises the Swiss government to ratify the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and their Recognition of 1 July 1985; (b) introduces private international law rules dealing with the jurisdiction of Swiss courts and the recognition of foreign decisions in trust related matters; and © introduces the concept of segregation of trust assets into Switzerland’s insolvency and bankruptcy law. Under Swiss constitutional law, 50,000 citizens or 8 cantons may launch a referendum against the new law within 100 days from its publication. However, this is unlikely to happen, as the new law is uncontroversial. Therefore, it is expected that the Hague Trust Convention will be ratied and the new law will come into force at a date chosen by the Swiss government in the rst half of 2007. An unofcial translation of the substantive provisions of the new law can be found in the Appendix to this note. As indicated in the Withers LLP Stop Presses which have already been circulated, the Swiss tax authorities have been working on draft Tax Guidelines for trusts which provide, inter alia, that the mere presence of a trustee in Switzerland should not expose the assets and the income/capital gains of the trust to Swiss taxes. At this stage it is not known if and when the Tax Guidelines will come into effect and clients are advised to seek a ruling from the relevant authorities. An Italian earthquake As is well known, Italy was the rst civil law country to ratify the Hague Trust Convention in 1992. The Italian experiment has been marked by great success and it is not uncommon to nd trusts which (but for the proper law) are exclusively connected with Italy – a technique known as ‘trust interni’ which has been upheld by various courts. However, the tax treatment of trusts has always remained shrouded in mystery – that is until the recent earthquake provoked by the reintroduction of gift and succession tax and also the enactment of specic rules dealing with the tax treatment of trusts. Gift and succession tax As indicated in a previous Stop Press, gift and succession tax was reintroduced in Italy on 2 October 2006, on the back of an electoral promise made by Romano Prodi. After some heated debate in the Italian Parliament, the new rules have been amended, but the overriding principle remains unaltered. In a nutshell, the old law on gift and succession tax has been reintroduced as it stood just before its abolition in 2001, subject to some novelties. (a) Under the new rules, transfers of property on death as well as lifetime gifts – including transfers to trusts – will be subject to tax at a rate of 4%, 6% or 8% depending on the degree of relationship existing between the deceased and the beneciary. (b) Transfers to spouses and ascendants/ descendants benet from an exemption of €1m per beneciary, whilst the exemption for siblings is limited to €100,000. There are also some exceptions for exempt gilts, transfers to recognised charities and transfers of family businesses in certain circumstances, whilst transfers of immovables are also subject to stamp duty land tax (‘imposte ipocatastali’). The extension of gift and succession tax to trusts gives rise to some interesting interpretative issues. Whilst the tax is said to affect ‘the transfer of assets and rights on death, by way of a gift or [other] gratuitous transfer, as well as the creation of trusts’, some commentators have already suggested that the tax should only hit the distribution of assets to beneciaries, rather then the mere creation of the trust. It remains to be seen how the law will be applied in practice but in any event the risk of entry tax may be avoided by careful drafting. Direct taxes The Italian Finance Act 2007 treats trusts in a manner akin to companies. In the future, therefore, trusts that are resident in Italy or have Italian source income will be subject to Italian corporation tax. Residence of trusts – actual and deemed Under Italian law, companies are resident in Italy if their seat or place of administration is situated or their principal object is carried out in Italy. In the case of trusts, there is also a rebuttable presumption that the trust is resident in Italy if: (a) at least one of the settlors and one of the beneciaries is resident in Italy; and (b) the trust is not established (‘ istituito’) in a country which appears on the ‘white list’ of countries which exchange information with Italy. Note that whilst the UK appears on Italy’s white list, Switzerland does not. In addition, a trust is treated as resident in Italy if, after its creation, an Italian resident adds immovable property or rights related to immovable property to a trust which is not established (‘istituito’) in a white-listed country. At this stage it is not clear what factor determines whether a trust is established (‘ istituito’) in a particular country (proper law of the trust? Place where the trust document is executed? Residence of trustees?). Also, does the rst test mentioned above also apply where a settlor establishes a trust (other than a trust of land) whilst being resident abroad and subsequently moves Italy? Attribution of trust income to beneciaries Finally, the Italian Finance Act 2007 provides that ‘where the beneciaries have been particularised (‘ individuati’), the income of the trust shall in any event be attributed to the beneciaries by reference to their shares as particularised (‘individuati’’) in the trust instrument or in any subsequent document, failing which, in equal shares’. Once more, there are interpretative issues connected with the wording of the new law: the word ‘ individuato’ may be translated as identied, described or selected. Did Parliament intend to tax beneciaries simply because they appear in the class of beneciaries? Whilst this is possible, it is difcult to see why a discretionary beneciary should pay income tax on income received by the trustees until and unless he has been ‘identied’ as the recipient of that income, i.e. until an appointment/distribution. Conclusions The adoption of the Hague Trust Convention by Switzerland is a welcome development. Given Switzerland’s pre-eminent position in the international trust arena, there is a certain similarity, in terms of signicance, with Jersey’s decision to adopt a trust law in 1984. However, both Jersey and Switzerland are effectively offshore jurisdictions and the Italian Finance Act 2007 represents the rst attempt by a civil law country to deal with the taxation of trusts in an onshore context. Seen in this light, practitioners who advise international clients on trust structures should keep a close eye on the Italian approach, as it may offer indications as to the possible treatment of trusts by other civil law countries which are less familiar with the trust concept. Annex Unofcial translation of the substantive provisions of the Swiss law relating to the ratication and implementation of the Hague Trust Convention, adopted on 20 December 2006 The Federal Private International Law (‘PIL’) and the Federal Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Law (‘DCBL’) are amended as follows: 1. Denition (new Art. 149a PIL) The term “trust” refers to trusts created voluntarily in accordance with the Hague Trust Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition, regardless as to whether they have been evidenced in writing (see Art. 3 of the Convention). 2. Jurisdiction of the Swiss courts (new art. 149b PIL) 1 A choice of jurisdiction for trust related matters which is made in accordance with the terms of the trust instrument shall be respected, provided it is either evidenced in writing or in another form which can be evidenced in writing. In the absence of a contrary disposition, that court shall have exclusive jurisdiction. Art. 5(2) PIL applies mutatis mutandis. 2 The designated court shall not reject jurisdiction if: 1. one of the parties, the trust or a trustee is domiciled or has its place of habitual abode or a branch in the canton in which the court is situated; 2. a signicant proportion of the trust assets are situated in Switzerland. 3 In the absence of a valid trust jurisdiction clause or if the designated court does not have exclusive jurisdiction, a dispute can be commenced before the Swiss courts of: (a) the place where the defendant is domiciled, failing which in the place of its habitual abode; or (b) the seat of the trust [see below]; © for disputes concerning the activity of a branch situated in Switzerland, the place where that branch is situated. 4 Disputes concerning any liability based on the public offering of securities and bonds may also be commenced before the Swiss courts of the place where such securities and bonds have been issued. This jurisdiction cannot be excluded by way of a choice of jurisdiction. 3. Seat of a trust (amendments to Art. 21 PIL) 1 A company or a trust within the meaning of Art.