| 释义 |
discretionary trust
A trust under which the trustees are given discretion as to who, within a class specified by the settlor, should receive trust property and how much each should receive. To be a valid trust, the trustees have to be able to say of any given individual whether they are, or are not, a member of the class (the “any given postulant test”; McPhail v Doulton [1970] UKHL 1). A beneficiary under a discretionary trust has no enforceable right to any part of the property or its income: see Vestey v IRC (No 2) [1979] 2 All ER 225 (HL), Gartside v IRC [1967] UKHL 6, Sainsbury v IRC [1970] Ch 712, and Re Smith [1928] Ch 915. Discretionary trusts have been invaluable in planning to mitigate liability to tax, but recent fiscal legislation has greatly reduced their advantages. Unless in favour of charities, discretionary trusts are now relevant property trusts and attract an inheritance tax charge every 10 years. |