"The inquiry concludes that the existing foreign trust disclosure rules are inadequate," Mr Shewan's report said. His report said that foreign trusts were legitimate vehicles, but that disclosure rules needed to be strengthened. In theory, New Zealand's tax disclosure rules and anti-money-laundering rules should be enough to deter tax abuses and ensure funds held in foreign trusts were from legitimate sources, the report said. The Government has confirmed a shake-up of foreign trusts following a review sparked by the Panama Papers. Mr Shewan recommended a "significant" increase in the amount of information disclosed when trusts were first set up.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 27, 2016 03:07 UTC