The ATO's renewed focus on section 100A has put trust distributions in the spotlight, particularly the scope of the income-splitting advantages of a discretionary family trust. While it is important to be aware of the ATO's position on section 100A, there are other relevant issues concerning trust distributions, which are important to be aware of since they are also generally raised in ATO risk reviews. This presentation examines not only the current public draft ATO guidance provided in relation to its application of section 100A on family trust distributions and its views of the ordinary family or commercial dealing exception, but also:
- The impact of the family trust election rules on trust distributions - in particular the issues that may arise on marriage breakdown, death or addition to the family
- Responding to ATO queries concerning the source of overseas settlements of corpus
- Managing the particular tax attributes and interactions of foreign income, gains and foreign beneficiaries, through either resident or nonresident trusts