(Trinidad Express) The Corporation Tax Act should be adjusted to make incomes and dividends gained from investments in the CLICO Trust Fund exempt from taxation.
This was one proposal presented by Finance Minister Winston Dookeran in his 2011/2012 Budget presentation.
Dookeran said that the CLICO Trust Fund will be a new entity that will allow policyholders in CLICO and British American with investments over $75,000 the option to exchange their Government bonds with maturities of 11 to 20 years for “instruments equal to the face value of the Bonds at the date of exchange and would be significantly greater in value than the value of the Bonds in open market”.
Dookeran said that any potential risks associated with the instrument will be properly explained to investors through a sustained communication plan.
“Upon completion of the exchange process of bonds for units, the Trust would be listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange and can be traded within the structure of the domestic capital market, similar to other closed end trusts or funds currently listed on the Exchange,” the minister said.
The Republic Bank shares that were owned by CL Financial (and now belong to the government after the January 2009 bailout of that conglomerate) will be vested in this trust.
