An analysis of the transfer duty implications on the 'sale'of a trust

Abstract

This dissertation is mainly a study of the nature of trusts and their daily operational limitations, which are frequently misunderstood and/or misused. My research question was whether a trust could be sold, and if so, what the tax implications of such a ‘sale’ would be. The overall approach was to perform a literature review and a critical analysis of current information available on South African trust law and the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949. Many studies have been undertaken in the past on various aspects of my subject, but the subject has never been studied as a cohesive whole. These studies formed the basis of the literature review. To arrive at an answer, an analysis of the available literature and South African judgments was undertaken. My concluding chapter gives an indication of whether a trust can be ‘sold’, what the current transfer duty implications are and what it is submitted they should be.