California Residency Tax Planning
The Issue
After years of wrangling with the issue, California has just enacted legislation to eliminate a state income tax savings strategy some California residents have pursued by establishing a non-grantor gift trust (ING). These trusts are often called WINGs, DINGs, and NINGS, a reference to the three states that first marketed them: Wyoming, Delaware, and Nevada. INGs can offer significant federal estate planning advantages. But they also allow residents of states with high income-tax rates, like California, to avoid paying state taxes on undistributed non-California-source income. The income can then grow free of state income taxes in the trust and be distributed later to the taxpayer (presumably after moving to a state with lower income taxes), or to their beneficiaries. But the new legislation has nullified the state tax benefits for California residents, leaving taxpayers who pursued the ING strategy in the lurch. Continue reading