France Administrative Supreme Court Clarifies Income Taxation of Payments Received by Beneficiary From Foreign Trust

The French Administrative Supreme Court March 13 issued Decision No. 500318, clarifying the income tax treatment of payments received by a beneficiary from a foreign trust. The taxpayer, a resident in France, received payments from a Canadian trust. The taxpayer sought relief from additional income tax, social security contributions, and an exceptional high-income contribution assessed on the trust payments. On appeal, the Administrative Supreme Court found that: 1) amounts distributed by a trust constitute taxable income under the General Tax Code if the taxpayer has actual disposal of the funds; 2) the burden of proof lies with the taxpayer to ...