The Netherlands: New Legislation Regarding the Taxation of Trusts

Abstract

With effect from 1 January 2010, the Dutch Inheritance and Gift Tax Act 1956 (IGTA) has been revised. The Netherlands Ministry of Finance identified the taxation of existing trust schemes and schemes that make use of irrevocable discretionary trusts allowing the avoidance of income tax and/or inheritance or gift tax in particular, as one of the most important objectives of the revision of the IGTA. The basic idea of the new legislation is that irrevocable and discretionary trust schemes are ignored for tax purposes (both for personal income tax and for IGTA purposes) and their income and assets attributed to the individuals involved.