The new French rules of taxation for trusts : wide (scope), heavy (tax) and severe (penalty)

Trusts & Trustees – février 2012, vol.18, n° 2
Jean-Luc Bochatay, Alain Moreau

The French Amended Finance Law for 2011 has im-plemented a new legislation aiming at taxing assets held or transferred through a trust. Although the concept of trust does not exist under French law, the existence and effects of foreign es-tablished trusts are generally recognized in France. France nevertheless did not have a comprehensive tax regime with respect to trusts. Indeed, French tax law provisions dealing specifically with trusts essen-tially concerned the taxation of income distributed to French residents from a foreign trust.