According to a briefing note from Lawrence Graham, the law firm, a disclosure deadline for trusts has been extended to 30 September for this year only. The guidance was issued on 14 September, in what is called Decree No 2012-1050 in that day’s Journal Officiel.

In general, the deadline for trustees to comply with a specific disclosure obligation and eventually pay the ensuing tax is 15 June, as set out in legislation last year. For trustees of trusts with non-French tax resident settlors or deemed settlors, the date should be extended to 31 August. But in this year, the authorities have decided to adopt a 30 September date for everyone, LG said.

In a separate aspect of the guidance, if there is a trust in existence on 31 July 2011, and changes are made between that date and 15 December 2012, they must be disclosed by the end of this year.

The guidance forms part of moves by France to tighten tax compliance rules on trusts and extend reporting requirements on individuals, including foreigners, who have control over, or benefit from French trusts. The legislation can be seen as part of moves by countries to prevent cross-border tax evasion, as in the case of the recently enacted US FATCA Act.