Introduction of a Global Minimum Wealth Tax (GloWT)

12:30 start of lunch seminar with fruits & sandwiches

Abstract

The international taxation of Family Offices, Trusts and hubs for Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWI) will increasingly be challenged by initiatives from the G20, OECD, EU, and UN. So far, the international tax policy focused on multinational enterprises (MNE), on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the introduction of a Global Minimum Tax (GloBE) to reduce profit shifting, to curb tax competition and to ensure fair taxation. These developments already affect the tax treatment of UHNWI and their wealth planning activities including Family Offices and Trusts. In the future, international tax efforts will focus even more on UHNWI, their Family Offices as well as Trusts and wealth hubs like HK, Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE and others. The goal will be to safeguard, expand and introduce even new taxing rights to mitigate international tax competition, to generate and relocate additional revenue and to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion.

The seminar focuses on significant international developments initiated by the G20, OECD, EU, and UN and their substantial impact on the international taxation of UHNWI, Family Offices and Trusts in wealth hubs like HK, a key hub for UHNWI in Asia-Pacific. As international tax regimes in certain jurisdictions and wealth hubs increasingly address the growing mobility of UHNWI, Family Offices and Trusts, these tax practices may intensify tax competition, undermine the fairness of tax systems and challenge national revenues. Therefore, the tax treatment of private income and wealth including wealth structures is becoming a central focus. To safeguard and expand existing and to introduce new taxing rights, high-tax countries are introducing stricter exit and transfer taxes, as well as developing new nexuses for taxation. Additionally, the introduction of a Global Minimum Wealth Tax (GloWT) including an effective backstop mechanism are discussed both by the G20 and the UN as a further global standard. Accordingly, UHNWI including Family Offices and Trusts could be required to pay and wealth hubs might be forced to levy a wealth tax of 2% annually in the future.