If you are a trustee of a trust, or know someone that is, then I recommend that you read on…as whilst is not a particularly interesting subject, new requirements are being placed on trustees with the potential for penalties to be charged for non-compliance.
Money laundering requirements are something with which everyone is familiar given the amount of ID you have to provide in order to get anything these days.
The fifth anti-money laundering directive will become law in January 2020 and the impact of this directive on trusts could be significant.
Under the current money laundering directive only trusts who have a liability to UK tax are required to register with HMRC using the trust registration service (TRS).
When the new law comes in in January 2020, it will not only be trusts with a tax liability that have to register but the majority of trusts, including those holding life policies written in trust, trusts owning properties where a beneficiary lives and discounted gift trusts to name a few. The requirement for the trust to have a tax liability in order to register will disappear.
It is likely that many trustees will not be aware of this new requirement, let alone the deadlines for registration that differ depending on whether the trust is already in existence or a new trust.
One of my concerns is the fact that many trustees will not be aware of this new requirement and how much is HMRC actually doing to publicise it. The other is how the TRS will cope with all the additional trusts that will be required to register.
If you would like any further information or assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.