Income tax: capital gains: does section 160ZM of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 apply to a non-assessable payment made by a trustee to a beneficiary of a discretionary trust?

Taxation Determination TD 97/15 discusses the capital gains tax consequences of the payment of a non-assessable amount to a mere object of a discretionary trust. The determination is written in terms of the provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 though an Addendum to the determination ensures it also applies to the equivalent provision in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Taxation Determination TD 2003/28 , that issues today, deals comprehensively with the treatment of all discretionary trust beneficiaries (that is, both mere objects and default beneficiaries). That TD finalises Draft Taxation Determination TD 99/D67. The view expressed in TD 2003/28 in respect of mere objects is the same as that in Taxation Determination TD 97/15 as amended.