In this first of a series of four articles, the authors consider real estate investment trust (REIT) regimes in general, and, then, focus on US REITs. In subsequent articles the authors deal with UK and German REITs, before concluding with a comparison of the three regimes. The United States was...

From a tax policy point of view, one of the demerits of a foreign investment fund regime is that it causes the law to treat forms of investment that are similar in economic purpose and effect as if they were different. In particular, it I likely to distinguish between direct investments by...

This is a chapter of a book on foreign investment fund regimes. Most features of foreign investment fund regimes fit reasonably neatly into the analytical framework of definition, boundaries, scope, exceptions, and calculation of income, topics that are dealt with in other chapters of the book....

The expression “foreign” or “overseas investment fund regime” can be misleading. The direct targets of such a regime are local residents of the country that enacts the regime. Overseas investment fund regimes aim only indirectly at investment funds in other countries. The objective of a...

Sections HH 1 and HH 8 of the New Zealand Income Tax Act 1976 contain a special regime for the taxation of trusts. Income that is distributed by the trustee is taxed in the hands of the beneficiary, and income that is accumulated is taxed to the trustee. The mere fact of the trustee being...

Much of the world's tax treaty policy is driven by approaches that suit, or that have suited, the USA. Changes to the relevant economic positions of the USA and the rest of the world have seen an altering of the way in which treaties are negotiated. At the time of writing the effect of these...

Major tax reforms in the 1980s saw movement towards to tax systems that are relatively pure, in that they are not given additional tasks promoting economic or social policies. The USA under the Clinton Administration began to show signs of reversing some of the changes of the 1980s. Tax policy...

Legislation regulating tax preparers has seen little attention in New Zealand, but this is not the case in Australia and the USA. In Australia is obligatory for those who professionally prepare tax returns to be registered as tax agents. In both countries – the USA and Australia – tax...

During the 1980s a major thrust of the European Community (now the European Union) effort and policy was towards the creation of a single market by the early 1990s. Issues that were most important regarding tax law were that of mergers and parent and subsidiaries. The harmonisation process is...

Tax simplification is a subject that causes great debate throughout the OECD. The general basis for simplification programmes is to identify factors that cause taxation to be complex, followed by an attempt to minimise the effects of these factors. Through the 1980s New Zealand engaged in one of...