Tax expert John Shewan sheds welcome light on trustsMAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ John Shewan's inquiry into trusts states that information and transparency will help the industry. OPINION: Tax expert John Shewan has produced a lucid inquiry into New Zealand's foreign trust regime. While the overall number of foreign trusts has grown five times as large since then, "there is now virtually no participation in foreign trusts from Australia", Shewan reports. "There is a reasonable likelihood that the regime is facilitating the hiding of funds or evasion of tax," Shewan says. Lastly, Shewan floats but then dismisses one more means of deterring "aggressive tax planning" – a public register of foreign trusts.

Source: Stuff June 29, 2016 19:18 UTC