Here is a real challenge for you from Australia
My client who is an Australian citizen and resident ( with no US visa ) who has recently been appointed Trustee of a complex ( irrevocable ) trust which was created in Illinois by a resident alien.
I have established that the change of Trustee ( from US citizen to an Aussie citizen ) has changed what was a US complex trust ( US Court / US Trustee / Aussie Beneficiaries ) into a foreign complex trust ( US court / Aussie Trustee / Aussie Beneficiaries ).
I?m slowly getting my head around IRS form W-8 BEN ( although I'm not sure in this instance it is the right form to use ), withholding tax and the tax treaty between the US and Australia but it would appear that a tax event has occured as a result of the change but I have NO idea what steps are required to satisfy the IRS with regards to the change over????please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS I did find this on the IRS website:
?Form 926, Return by a Transferor of Property to a Foreign Estate or Trust, when contributing property to a foreign trust. These trusts are usually U.S. tax neutral and are treated as grantor trusts with income taxed to the grantor?
which has only served to confuse me more because if it is a grantor trust it doesn?t need to submit a W-8 BEN but instead W-8ECI or W-8IMY......whatever they are
PPS
If you think this is complicated???????..it is only half of the equation I have to go through the whole thing again with the Australian Tax Office
##-----------------------------------------------## Newsgroup Access Courtesy