The Maltese Income Tax Act provides for the possibility that trusts are treated as companies or as flow through entities. Moreover, settlement of property into trust, transactions entered into by the trustee and distributions by the trustee to the beneficial owners, may give rise to different tax consequences.

In this respect, a careful tax assessment should to be carried out at the various stages of a trust’s life. The normal tax rules would then be applied depending on the nature of the trust property, that is, whether it is chargeable property or otherwise. The tax authorities also allow an election for a particular trust to be treated like a company for tax purposes.

Our tax consultants, in collaboration with the trustees and our in-house lawyers, can advise you in all financial, legal, and tax aspects of your succession planning and estate management to ensure a problem free, discrete, and tax efficient solution.

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