A proposition which ensures that those who are not so fortunate as to
be in a position to so order their affairs will pay all the more in
tax.

On 8/11/16, Neil Guthrie <nguthrie@mac.com> wrote:
> And one could cite, as a point of departure, Duke of Westminster v
> Commissioners of Inland Revenue (HL, 1935), per Lord Tomlin:
>
> 'Every man is entitled if he can to order his affairs so that the tax
> attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it otherwise would be.'
>
> Neil
>
>> On Aug 11, 2016, at 14:16, Harrington Matthew P.
>> <matthew.p.harrington@umontreal.ca> wrote:
>>
>> For those getting ready to teach trusts in the new school year, there is
>> an interesting, and very clear, example of the tax benefits of trusts in
>> today’s London papers.
>>
>> As many of you probably know, the Duke of Westminster died this past week.
>> The third richest man in England, his ancestral estate includes a large
>> part of Belgravia and Mayfair, and is estimated at around £9 billion. In
>> fact, the Duke has the freehold on the land under the US Embassy.
>>
>> Normally, such an inheritance would attract a 40% death duty (roughly £3.6
>> billion in tax). However, his lordship’s 25-year-old son and heir will
>> likely pay almost no tax because the estate is structured as discretionary
>> trust.
>>
>> Two articles clearly explaining the problem (and showing the breadth of
>> the London estate) can be found at:
>>
>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/inheritance/inheritance-tax-and-how-the-dukes-of-westminster-avoid-it-on-the/
>>
>> https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-tax-why-the-new-duke-of-westminster-will-not-pay-billions
>>
>> Although many students’ eyes glaze over when talk of tax comes up in the
>> trusts course --- especially on the first day --- this case might drive
>> home the point in an interesting and fun way.
>>
>> Kind regards.
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------
>> Matthew P Harrington
>> Professeur titulaire
>> Faculté de droit
>> Université de Montréal
>> 514.343.6106
>> matthew.p.harrington@umontreal.ca
>> commonlaw.umontreal.ca
>> ------------------------------------------
>>
>