In recent years much has been said of the use of a
hybrid trust. The term is not specific and includes many
different types of trusts, where there may be different
entitlements to revenueand capital.
It is argued by some that this type of trust provides for
all the benefits flowing from a discretionary trust (the
flexibility to deal with income) with the advantages of being
able to use negative gearing in respect of fixed entitlements
to income, usually through units issued with such rights.
At one level the 'flow through'
characteristics of a trust and the ability to stream trust
income Tax Ruling (TR 92/13 Income Tax: Distribution by
trustees of dividend income under the imputation system)
provides substantial flexibility and the potential to reduce
overall income tax liabilities. On the other the dichotomy
between tax law (s95) income and trust law income provide many
complexities that are as