Bargwanna on proper use of trust funds by Trustees
There are many organisations that use a trust as a vehicle for holding funds intended to be used for the purposes of their charity. Any that do so should carefully consider the decision handed down by the High Court on 29 March 2012 in Commissioner of Taxation v Bargwanna [2012] HCA 11.
The Court was concerned with whether the income tax exemption under Division 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (‘the Act’) for a private charitable fund could be met if the trust fund was used for multiple purposes in addition to the charitable purpose. The Court considered whether it constituted a breach of trust by the trustees to use trust money in their personal capacity.