How a mistake led to one family’s $13m trust tax bill

A Rich Lister’s multi-million-dollar family trust tax court battle is symptomatic of a wider problem.

Family trust structures are riddled with complexities, but mistakes can be costly. Simon Letch

Michelle BowesWealth reporter

Oct 31, 2025 – 3.18pm

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Family trusts are known to be complex structures and, in this case, an accounting error involving two trusts threatens to unravel plans for a family fortune worth nearly $3 billion.

At its centre is the Thomas family, who, under patriarch Chris Thomas, were ranked 52nd on this year’s Financial Review Rich List with a fortune of $2.97 billion.

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Michelle BowesWealth reporterMichelle Bowes writes about personal finance from our Sydney newsroom. She has been a business journalist for 25 years and is the author of Money Queens: Rule your Money, an award-winning personal finance book for teenage girls.