Design Of Anti-tax Avoidance System For Offshore Trusts In My Countr

The trust system originated in England and has been hailed by English jurists as one of the most significant contributions of English law to world jurisprudence.Trusts are favoured worldwide for their flexibility and diversity and have become a major financial management tool.China introduced the Trust Law at the beginning of the 21 st century and,after more than two decades of development,has established a relatively sound trust law system.However,unlike the development of trust law,there is still a large gap in trust tax law,with few tax provisions directly related to trusts,resulting in a lack of clarity in the tax elements of China’s trust tax system and insufficient regulation of trust tax avoidance.In addition,as trusts have a natural tax avoidance function since the feature of concealment,they are increasingly seen as a tool for high income and high net worth individuals to pass on their family wealth and save tax.In addition,the anonymity of offshore trusts has led to the inability of China’s existing special anti-avoidance measures to adapt to the requirements of anti-avoidance regulation of offshore trusts.Therefore,a systematic and fair anti-avoidance system in the field of offshore trusts needs to be established urgently.The body of the thesis is divided into five main parts.In the first part,the basic principles and tax features of offshore trusts are analysed.Firstly,from the definition of trust,we analyse how the ownership of trusts under different legal systems affects the subject of taxation,and conclude that trusts are generally treated as "conduits" and the beneficiaries of trusts,rather than trustees of trusts,are liable for tax on trust income.Secondly,using a pooled fund trust scheme as a case study,we discuss the possibility of three modes of income taxation for trusts in China from the perspective of trust practice in the three stages of establishment,continuation and termination.It reveals that there are inconsistencies in the scope of taxation and ambiguities or even gaps in the applicable rules in the current trust taxation practice in China.Finally,the characteristics of offshore trusts and their main tax avoidance paths are analysed in focus,and their tax attributes are clarified by comparing the definition of offshore trusts in the non-tax field with the meaning of tax law.In addition,the main paths of tax avoidance of offshore trusts and related influencing factors are analysed from three aspects.In the third part,the current situation and the main problems of antiavoidance regulation of offshore trusts in China are further clarified,pointing out that there are four problems in China,such as the conflict of laws,the lack of taxation system,the lack of supervision and the difficulties in exchanging taxrelated information for offshore trusts.At the same time,the differences and connections between offshore trust anti-avoidance and other international antiavoidance are explored,and it is shown that if we want to further improve the offshore trust tax avoidance system,we must make policy recommendations specifically for offshore trust tax avoidance.The fourth part,comparing international experience,examines the international experience of the anti-avoidance regime of offshore trusts from four perspectives,including the recognition of tax subjects,the identification of tax resident status,the formulation of special anti-avoidance rules and the antiavoidance regulation at the procedural level,with a view to providing reference for the improvement of China’s policy.In the fifth part,policy recommendations are made in respect of the establishment of legal rules applicable to offshore trusts,the establishment of a sound trust taxation system in China with the principle of substantive taxation as the core,the improvement of special anti-avoidance provisions for trusts and the improvement of relevant procedural regulations.