Trust and international administrative assistance (exchange of tax information on request)

The Italian tax authorities receive information on three taxpayers and a trust (the E. trust) of which they are the settlors, via an automatic exchange. The trustee of the E. trust is D. SA. Based on the MCAA, the Italian tax authorities ask the FTA for information on the «E. Trust, represented by D. SA».

Federal judges turn a blind eye to the «E. trust, represented by (the trustee) D. SA» 🤨 The strict formality of the summons seems completely unknown in matters of international administrative assistance…

For administrative assistance purposes, the trust is legally and fiscally classified according to the law of the requesting State. However, federal judges do not conduct research into foreign law to determine how the trust is legally and fiscally classified in the country of the requesting authority... In other words, one must take what the foreign tax authority writes at face value.

Federal judges confirm the case law on trustees, namely that they act as fiduciaries.

The judgment is in German.

TAF, ruling A-4137-2022, of 2 April 2025