On 2 June 2010, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) released Taxation Ruling TR 2010/3 (Ruling), the finalised version of the controversial draft ruling TR 2009/D8 on the tax treatment of unpaid entitlements (UPEs) owed to corporate beneficiaries of trusts. Also released was a draft Practice Statement PS LA 3362 (DPS) which provides important guidance on how the ruling will be administered - and needs to be read closely with the Ruling. The Ruling raises exceptionally complex trust and tax law issues which will have hard practical consequences for trustees, beneficiaries and their advisers. The Ruling has both retrospective and prospective application, depending on what technical issues are seen to be involved.
This event focused on the practical implications arising from the Ruling and the DPS.