Chapter 1 initially identifies the goals of the book to identify the principles by which countries tax income derived by, through or from a trust in an international context where more than one country has a potential taxing claim, to identify situations of double- or non-taxation that can arise from the interaction of national tax systems in treaty and non-treaty situations, and to postulate principles of tax and treaty design to avoid inappropriate double- or non-taxation. It then describes the method of analysis and prior literature, identifies the characteristics of the trust as a legal and economic institution, identifies the general and international taxing options for trust-related income and tax concepts used in the book, defines the scope of the book by reference to trusts treated as such by national tax rules and outlines the structure of the book.