The Duttons’ empty trust fund could have cut their tax bill. Here’s how it worked

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined twice to comment on Dutton’s property portfolio and share holdings, saying only “I make no comment about Peter Dutton’s matters, that’s a matter for him” at a press conference in Melbourne.

Dutton first declared the existence of the RHT Family Trust – named for his children Rebecca, Harry and Tom – in April 2014. At various points it has held a childcare centre in Bald Hills in Brisbane and a shopping plaza with 11 stores in Townsville, Queensland.

RHT Investments Qld, acting for the trust, purchased Edison Plaza on September 7, 2016, for $760,000, and sold it on March 11, 2022 for $840,000.

Peter and his wife Kirilly Dutton were initially the two beneficiaries of the family trust, which allows families to legally split income between family members on high salaries and those with lower earnings, such as young adult children, to reduce their tax bills.

The Dutton children were added as beneficiaries in 2016. Dutton’s declarations show he stopped being a beneficiary in 2019.

Dutton said he was proud of what he and his family had achieved since his working-class childhood. “I actually think the Australian public wants somebody who knows how to manage money, knows how to manage the economy,” Dutton said at a press conference in Sydney.

Dutton said his family trust, which he first declared in 2014, no longer had anything in it. He said questions about the trust were “an issue for my wife” because he was not a beneficiary.

“The assets we own are … a house which has been declared, our private residence. We have money in the bank and that’s it, there are no assets held in any trust,” Dutton said.

How a trust works

A trust is a legal vehicle that holds assets such as cash, property or shares in line with a document, known as a deed, that sets out its rules.
People or a company make decisions for the trust. They are called trustees.
Trusts are run to benefit other people or companies, who are called beneficiaries.
The trust isn’t generally taxed on its holdings and many trusts are under no obligation to pay out money at any particular time.
When trusts do pay out money to a beneficiary, that is taxed. That can help with tax by spreading out earnings across a family where one person may earn much more than the others, who will then be taxed at a lower rate.

Associate professor of taxation law at the University of NSW, Dale Boccabella, said trusts can help protect a family’s assets if a child gets married and divorces but can also reduce tax.

“It is about tax minimisation and we, the public, are losing a lot of money,” Boccabella said.

The Tax Office estimates there are around 800,000 family trusts in operation today, Boccabella said, and they could cost the taxpayer billions annually through tax minimisation measures.

But, he said: “If it’s available to me, why shouldn’t it be available to a politician?”