Today, we shared our expertise on Trusts and Foundations during an almost two-hour presentation at the CFO Cafe venue. We covered both tax and legal aspects with a focus on practical application.
This time, we devoted much more attention to asset protection. We summarized creditor strategies and ways to counter them. Based on the analysis of over 100 precedents, we developed criteria for the ideal jurisdiction for establishing a trust/foundation and shared them. Our analysis covered not only the UAE and its free zones but also other Middle Eastern countries. For clients with access to all options, the presentation also addressed other popular trust/foundation jurisdictions, including Nevis, the Cook Islands, the Cayman Islands, the BVI, and others.
On the non-tax side, the most engaging part was the case of the Andresen spouses (slide 16). This story is worth reading in full—it truly feels like a John Grisham novel. The sections on shortened limitation periods and migration were also quite impactful.
From the tax perspective, the highlights included:
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Analysis of the deductibility of distributions to beneficiaries in an opaque structure (slides 33–34).
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Commentary on the Ministry of Finance’s simplification of the burden for foreign partnerships at the end of last year (slide 22).
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Comparison of the consequences for transparent vs. opaque status (from slide 20).
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Analysis of the rules in the UK, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Cook Islands for determining trustee transparency/opacity (from slide 35).
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The status of a trust/foundation for DTA purposes (at the end).
