New tax rules are intended to address concerns that the current tax regime acts as a barrier to launches of investment trusts. Ian Zeider reviews the detail.
Despite their name investment trusts are companies rather than trusts and their primary tax benefit is that they are exempt from tax on chargeable gains. Since being introduced in 1965 the tax rules for investment trusts had not been significantly changed. However after a prolonged consultation exercise new tax rules have been introduced which (other than certain provisions not discussed further in this article relating to holdings by investment trusts in non-reporting offshore funds) have effect for accounting periods of investment trusts beginning on or after 1 January this year (the ‘new rules’). As the government’s intention in enacting the new rules was to address...
