Trust us – to reduce your costs and tax

Stuart Goodbody undertook a review of all aspects of the trusts, using his experience of managing numerous trusts on behalf of clients. It was clear that the trusts had been designed to be flexible but that by the time we became involved they were routinely paying income to the same people. Moreover, they were doing this in an inefficient manner, not least because the income was mostly in the form of dividends and so the tax credits were lost by the time the income reached the beneficiaries. Stuart prepared deeds which formalised the income payments until further notice while preserving the intended flexibility. The income was then mandated directly to the beneficiaries from the investment portfolios. This allowed him to close the trustees’ bank accounts, slashing administration and running costs. It also meant that for those beneficiaries who were basic rate taxpayers, the effective tax rate on their trust income fell from 28% to 10% and, for those who were higher rate taxpayers, the rate fell from 46% to 32.5%.