Foreign Dividends and Australian Trusts

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some strategic ideas on the current structure of family wealth/assets.

The basic situation is as follows:

1. Dividends are distrubuted from a foreign Company.
2. A corporate trustee atf an Australian Unit Trust owns 60% of the foreign Company
3. My Corporate trustee atf Family Trust is a 35% owner of Units in the Unit Trust.

Family Trust is set up with individuals and a bucket company as beneficiary.The actual dividends that will end up in the family trust will be substantial and ongoing and will ultimately mean that they cannot be distributed to individuals in total and will primarily end up in the bucket company.

How is the cash that sits within the bucket company best utilised for tax purposes. Should the bucket company provide shareholder loan back to the Trust or to the individuial bebificiaries?

Ultimately what is the best placed vehicle to own things like property and cars etc.

I appreciate that this is not a bad problem to have but i want to make sure that i am structuring things the best way possible.

Thanks

N