Responding to Trust Tax Changes: Not as Easy as PIE

Effective 1 April 2024 the tax rate for most trusts lifted from 33% to 39%, not an insignificant change. Understandably, many are now asking, should they change how they structure their investments? Also somewhat understandable is some of the advice circulating — shift to a PIE. In our view, however, this response is overly simple and ignores the raft of other factors you should consider when choosing your investments. Additionally, we suspect some overestimate the magnitude of the tax benefit from shifting to a PIE. The answer is, unfortunately, not as easy as PIE.