In law, a trust refers to a relationship in which the owner of property gives it to a designated entity, usually described as a trustee. The trustee has a duty to safeguard and use the assets of the trust solely for the benefit of another person or group of persons until distribution, pursuant to the provisions of the trust. In the English common law tradition, the party who entrusts the property is known as the "settlor", the party to whom the property is entrusted is known as the "trustee", the party for whose benefit the property is entrusted is known as the "beneficiary", and the entrusted property itself is known as the "corpus" or "trust property". A testamentary trust is an irrevocable trust that is established and funded pursuant to the terms of a deceased person's will. An inter vivos trust is a trust created during the settlor's lifetime.
A tax treaty, also called double tax agreement (DTA) or double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA), is an agreement between two countries to avoid or mitigate double taxation. Such treaties may cover a range of taxes including income taxes, inheritance taxes, value added taxes, or other taxes. Besides bilateral treaties, multilateral treaties are also in place. For example, European Union (EU) countries are parties to a multilateral agreement with respect to value added taxes under auspices of the EU, while a joint treaty on mutual administrative assistance of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is open to all countries. Tax treaties tend to reduce taxes of one treaty country for residents of the other treaty country to reduce double taxation of the same income.
A foundation is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating directly in charitable activities. Foundations encompass public charitable foundations, like community foundations, and private foundations, which are often endowed by an individual or family. Nevertheless, the term "foundation" might also be adopted by organizations not primarily engaged in public grantmaking.
Income tax in the Netherlands is regulated by the Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001.
In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the state of residence of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's estate during the person's life in preparation for a person's future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs, loved ones, and/or charity, and may include minimizing gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Estate planning includes planning for incapacity, reducing or eliminating uncertainties over the administration of a probate, and maximizing the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses. The ultimate goal of estate planning can only be determined by the specific goals of the estate owner, and may be as simple or complex as the owner's wishes and needs directs. Guardians are often designated for minor children and beneficiaries with incapacity.
A gift, in the law of property, is the voluntary and immediate transfer of property from one person to another without consideration. There are several type of gifts in property law, most notably inter vivos gifts which are made in the donor's lifetime and causa mortis (deathbed) gifts which are made in expectation of the donor's imminent death. Both types of gifts share three elements which must be met in order for the gift to be legally effective: donative intent, the delivery of the gift to the donee, and the acceptance of the gift. In addition to those elements, causa mortis gifts require that the donor must die of the impending peril that he or she had contemplated when making the gift.
In France, taxation is determined by the yearly budget vote by the French Parliament, which determines which kinds of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied.
Taxation in the Netherlands is defined by the income tax, the wage withholding tax, the value added tax and the corporate tax.
Laws regulating nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary associations vary in different jurisdictions. They all play a critical role in addressing social, economic, and environmental issues. These organizations operate under specific legal frameworks that are regulated by the respective jurisdictions in which they operate.
The Stichting INGKA Foundation is a Dutch foundation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad, a Swedish billionaire and founder of IKEA, and his corporate attorney Linnea Walsh. INGKA is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world and used to be one of the largest nonprofit organisations in the world. The name "INGKA" comes from a contraction of Ingvar's name, while stichting is the Dutch language word for foundation. The stated purpose of the foundation is "To promote and support innovation in the field of architectural and interior design"; however, the organization has recently expanded its philanthropic agenda towards well-being of children in the developing world.
International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate of a person who has died. However, this distinction is not always observed; for example, the UK's "inheritance tax" is a tax on the assets of the deceased, and strictly speaking is therefore an estate tax.
A private foundation is a tax-exempt organization that does not rely on broad public support and generally claims to serve humanitarian purposes.
In economics, a gift tax is the tax on money or property that one living person or corporate entity gives to another. A gift tax is a type of transfer tax that is imposed when someone gives something of value to someone else. The transfer must be gratuitous or the receiving party must pay a lesser amount than the item's full value to be considered a gift. Items received upon the death of another are considered separately under the inheritance tax. Many gifts are not subject to taxation because of exemptions given in tax laws. The gift tax amount varies by jurisdiction, and international comparison of rates is complex and fluid.
The Tax and Customs Administration is the tax collection and customs service of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is part of the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for levying and collecting taxes in the Netherlands.
A stichting is a Dutch legal entity with limited liability, but no members or share capital, that exists for a specific purpose. This form of entity makes it possible to separate functions of ownership and control. Its use has been pioneered successfully in recent years as a 'poison pill' style defence tactic in hostile takeover situations by Scott V Simpson, one of Europe's leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers.
Mantelzorg means cloak care in Dutch. The term was introduced by Johannes Hattinga Verschure in 1972. It describes the system of informal social care in the Netherlands.
The Islamic Reporting Initiative (IRI) is an independent nonprofit organization leading the creation of the IRI Standard: a reporting standard for Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) based on Islamic principles and values. Its objective is to enable organizations to inclusively assess, report, verify and certify their ESG and philanthropic programs in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Dutch childcare benefits scandal is a political scandal in the Netherlands concerning false allegations of fraud made by the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) while attempting to regulate the distribution of childcare benefits, that led to the collective resignation of the government in early 2021.
The Stichting Blauwe Lijn is an organisation based in The Netherlands focused on the preservation of biographical, technical, and historical information related to hydraulic engineering and engineers in the field. The organisation engages in public outreach and educational programmes with the stated aims of: