根據紐西蘭稅務局（以下簡稱「稅務局」）的實施後審查結果，紐西蘭於 2020 年 12 月引入的加強信託揭露要求導致了不必要的合規成本，尤其是在第一年。該規則是在《2020 年稅收（所得稅率和其他修正案）法》第 59BA 條中頒布的，該法還規定了年個人收入超過 180,000 新西蘭元的最高稅率為 39%。針對受託人的額外披露要求是在沒有徵求公眾意見的情況下「緊急」頒布的。它們於 2021/22 收入年度首次生效，旨在幫助稅務局檢查受託人是否遵守新的個人稅率。它們還旨在揭示受託人使用的結構和實體的類型。
所有應稅信託的受託人都必須編制財務報表並披露有關結算、委託人、分配和受益人的詳細信息，以及有權任命或罷免受託人或受益人或修改信託契約的人員。遺產和外國信託則豁免。
另一部分規定允許稅務局追溯要求提供 2013/14 收入年度結束後至 2020/21 收入年度開始前期間的信託相關資訊。 2021 年，透過取消一些豁免（特別是慈善信託），增加了更多的揭露要求。 2022 年，引入了某些最低限度門檻，以減輕報告負擔。這些規定將追溯至 2020/21 年。
剛完成的實施後審查旨在確定是否可以做出改變以改善未來的揭露或降低合規成本。稅務局對代表受託人、稅務代理人、會計師和稅務顧問的利害關係人團體進行了訪談。它還向 17,000 個信託機構發送了調查問卷。
大多數受訪者抱怨稱，滿足日益嚴格的資訊揭露要求需要付出合規成本，並表示並不清楚稅務局為何需要這些資訊，或這些資訊的用途。許多人也強調，資訊要求應該限於合規和政策目的的需要。一些利害關係人表示，稅務局應該縮小規則的適用範圍，並質疑其與規模較小、較不複雜的信託的相關性。大多數人認為，第一年的合規工作是最困難的，因為他們必須收集以前從未收集過的資訊。有些人也強調，這些成本現在已經產生，因此，稅務局應該意識到，如果規則有任何變化，可能會產生進一步的一次性成本。
一些受訪者也表示，由於揭露要求的增加和《2019 年信託法》的出台，信託的可行性降低。有些人指出，信託現在可能需要專業受託人，而且由於合規成本過高，一些信託已經解散。
在對答案的分析中，稅務局堅持該制度的實用性，強調受託人可以將收入分配給不同的受益人，並分配資本（先前按受託人稅率徵稅的收入以及資本收益），而無需進一步徵稅。
稅務局表示：「確保這些設定繼續合適且不被濫用非常重要。」它反對小型信託應免稅的想法，至少在分析完 2024/25 年度的納稅申報表之後是如此，這是自實施 39% 的受託人稅率以來首次做出的納稅申報表。它表示，確定信託是否有資格享受簡化報告要求的門檻不應在現階段修改，一般信託的最低標準也不應修改。
報告建議保留該制度，並進行一些細微調整，以降低報告規則的主觀性和粒度，減少不必要的揭露細目，使受託人更容易遵守。例如，它規定受託人不應該分別披露信託的財務資訊和結算中的土地和建築物。他們也不應該區分非現金分配是信託資產的分配、低於市場價值的使用信託財產或債務的免除。只有當收入年度內的總價值低於 100,000 新西蘭元時，他們才需要披露非現金分配或結算，並且不應區分現金分配是從資本還是本金中進行的。
為了幫助受託人收集信息，稅務局建議在下一部法案中引入新的法定條款，要求受益人、委託人和委任人向受託人提供相關個人資訊。需要進一步研究來確定如何提高揭露任命人詳細資訊的合規性。
此外，稅務局的報告指出國際反洗錢標準的重要性日益增加。研究發現，任何會降低信託控制人透明度的信託揭露規則的改變或信託揭露制度的重大改變都應諮詢司法部。報告稱，任何減少受託人揭露要求的行為都可能對紐西蘭在金融行動特別工作組的評級產生負面影響，應先提交給司法部。
稅務局承認，並非所有建議都能立即推進，因為有些建議需要立法改變，有些建議則需要軟體開發。它建議在 2025 年信託納稅申報之前及時實施大部分建議，但關於小型信託是否應該減少報告要求的決定將需要更長時間。
New trust disclosure rules increased compliance costs, says New Zealand tax authority
The rules were enacted in s.59BA of the Taxation (Income Tax Rate and Other Amendments) Act 2020, which also set a new top tax rate of 39 per cent on annual personal income over NZD180,000. The extra disclosure requirements for trustees were enacted 'under urgency' without public consultation. They first came into effect for the 2021/22 income year, in order to help the Inland Revenue check that trustees were complying with the new personal tax rate. They were also intended to reveal the types of structures and entities being used by trustees.
All trustees of taxable trusts were required to prepare financial statements and disclose details of settlements, settlors, distributions and beneficiaries, as well as persons with powers to appoint or remove a trustee or beneficiary or amend the trust deed. Estates and foreign trusts were exempted.
A further section allowed the Inland Revenue to retrospectively request information relating to a trust for a period beginning after the end of the 2013/14 income year and ending before the beginning of the 2020/21 income year. More disclosure requirements were added in 2021 by removing some of the exemptions, notably charitable trusts. In 2022, certain de minimis thresholds were introduced to reduce the reporting burden. These were given retrospective effect to 2020/21.
The post-implementation review just completed was intended to determine whether changes can be made to improve future disclosures or reduce compliance costs. The Inland Revenue conducted interviews with stakeholder groups representing trustees, tax agents, accountants and tax advisors. It also sent survey questionnaires to 17,000 trusts.
Most respondents complained of the compliance costs involved in meeting the increased disclosure requirements, stating that it is also not necessarily clear why the Inland Revenue wanted the information or what it was used for. Many also emphasised that the information requirements should be restricted to what is needed for compliance and policy purposes. Some stakeholders said that the Inland Revenue should narrow the application of the rules and questioned the relevance to smaller and less complex trusts. Most considered that compliance was hardest in the first year because they had to gather information that had never been collected before. Some also emphasised that these costs have now been incurred and that the Inland Revenue should therefore be conscious of imposing further one-off costs with any changes to the rules.
Some respondents also indicated that trusts are less viable due to the increased disclosure requirements and the introduction of the Trusts Act 2019. A few noted that trusts may now need professional trustees and that some trusts have wound up as a result of the high compliance costs.
In its analysis of the responses, the Inland Revenue maintained the usefulness of the regime, emphasising that trustees can stream income to different beneficiaries and distribute capital (income previously taxed at the trustee rate as well as capital gains) with no further tax impost.
'It is important to ensure these settings continue to be appropriate and are not misused', the Inland Revenue said. It opposes the idea that small trusts should be exempt, at least until after it has analysed the 2024/25 returns, the first to be made since the 39 per cent trustee tax rate was imposed. It said that the thresholds for determining whether a trust is eligible for simplified reporting requirements should not be amended at this stage, nor should the minimum standards for trusts in general.
The report recommends that the regime should be retained, with some minor adjustments to reduce the subjectivity and granularity of the reporting rules, with fewer unnecessary breakdowns of disclosures to make it simpler for trustees to comply. For example, it says, trustees should not have to separately disclose land and buildings for both the financial information and the settlements on the trust. Nor should they have to distinguish between whether a non-cash distribution was a distribution of trust assets, the use of trust property for less than market value or the forgiveness of debt. They should be required to disclose non-cash distributions or settlements only if the total value in an income year is less than NZD100,000 and should not have to distinguish between whether a cash distribution was made from capital or corpus.
To help trustees collect information, the Inland Revenue recommends introducing a new statutory provision in the next available Bill to require beneficiaries, settlors and appointers to provide relevant personal information to trustees. Further work is needed to determine how to improve compliance with disclosing appointer details.
Moreover, the Inland Revenue report noted the increasing importance of international anti-money laundering standards. It found that the Ministry of Justice should be consulted on any changes to the trust disclosure rules that would reduce the transparency of controlling persons of trusts or significant changes to the trust disclosure regime. Any reduction of the disclosure requirements for trustees may have a negative impact on New Zealand's rating with the Financial Action Task Force and should be first referred to the Ministry of Justice, it said.
The Inland Revenue acknowledges that not all of its recommendations can be immediately progressed, as some will need legislative change and others require software development. It suggests implementing most of the recommendations in time for the 2025 trust tax returns, although the decision on whether small trusts should have reduced reporting requirements will take longer.
Sources:
NZ Inland Revenue
NZ Inland Revenue (report, PDF)