Effective 1st July 2010

TREVISAN SUPER TRUSTS - THE ULTIMATE TAX MINIMISATION STRUCTURE

FREE ! :  SUPER FUND LOAN ADVICE (see Special offers page.)

Q. WHAT IS A TREVISAN TRUST ? A. ITS A SPECIAL PRE: 1999 TRUST WITH SPECIFIC TAX EXEMPTIONS.

The Trevisan Trust was a popular arrangement because it allowed a taxpayer to use a DIY superannuation fund to gear its assets indirectly through a related unit trust in which the fund invested. The unit trust was usually controlled by the fund members, often via a trustee company in which the members were shareholder/directors. This made the purchase of property particularly attractive because it magnified the super. fund returns and accelerated debt reduction (repayment of borrowings) through more efficient cash flows and from tax benefits. It also allowed the superannuation fund to own a business, which super. funds cannot do directly. In 1991 the Australian Taxation Office argued that the arrangement was illegal and the case went to court. The ATO lost the case and the trusts were to be even more popular until 11th August 1999 when new tax laws came into effect. These new laws will only allow a DIY superannuation fund to invest 5% of its investments into a related trust, while the pre. 1999 trust can still have 100% invested into the unit trust, subject to careful planning.

Because the new restrictions do not apply to pre. 1999 Trevisan trusts they are particularly valuable for larger transactions.

Click here to see the ATO site which lists information about the original tax case

We have a limited number of pre. 1999 Trevisan trusts which can be transferred in a similar manner to a shelf company. To find out how one of these trusts might help you with structuring a property purchase or development or business or investment set up, call on our FREE NUMBER 1800 264 111 for a no obligation consultation.

A FEW EXAMPLES OF WHO MAY BENEFIT FROM USING A TREVISAN TRUST

› DIY FUNDS THAT WANT TO GEAR TO MAKE THE FUND WORK HARDER
› BUSINESS PURCHASERS OR VENDORS
› CHILD CARE CENTRE OWNERS/DEVELOPERS
› HIGH INCOME EARNERS > $250K p.a. (SALARY/INCOME PACKAGING)
› PROPERTY DEVELOPERS
› RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PURCHASERS > $2 Million
› RETIRING BUSINESS OWNERS

**These new laws (S67 4A) are reminiscent of the Trevisan Trust, but the pre 1999 Trevisan is still superior in many ways as this trust can own a business and direct business income directly into the super. fund, this overcomes the new cap on contributions. They can also charge assets without a limited recourse loan which will generally be easier and cheaper and is available from standard bank lenders.

We expect that the Trevisan Trust structure will reduce the interest rate charged by lenders by at least 1% to 2% because of the removal of the limited recourse loans that are part of the Warrant Trusts financing. This could be a significant additional cost disadvantage, particularly with larger investments over the full loan term

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