100% inheritance tax?

[Kendodd]

Or 95%, something like that.
Thought experiment.
How would it pan out?

Ehh no

Well for starters people would find a way round it.

And secondly, why shouldn't I inherit the things my parents worked hard for, and why shouldn't I pass on things I leave to my DDs?

Terribly. People have a right to pass on the benefits of their hard work to their children. Most people aren't leaving multi million pound estates, just a little something to help out their kids and make life a touch easier.
Also people have paid tax on their earnings, tax on their house purchases, tax on everything they buy. Inheritance tax is legalised theft. I say this as someone who will inherit nothing, so no skin in the game

people would just give away their money before death or buy gold jewellery or something so it can be passed on quietly also what if it is a family business that kids have been working in don't they deserve to carry it on or must it be sold to get the parents share out of it and then they can't continue
it is a silly idea as there will be loop holes if I thought the government would take all my savings instead of my DD having them I would just give them to whoever I thought would make better use of them ie about 99% of the population. I do think the rate should be more sliding not go from 0% straight to 40%

You want politicians to be able to steal everything you own when you die? You trust them with it? Do you not think that would just incentivise people to get better at hiding their wealth/property from authorities? Personal/private property is vital for individual autonomy and liberty. The state should not be able to simply take everything you own.

Also people strive for the future - it's the thought of leaving their children better off that spurs ambition for many. If the state was allowed to steal it all, many entrepreneurs and business owners and people who have grafted to develop needed skills (that pay well) will just take a 'fuck it' approach and do the minimum effort job do they can spend more time on leisure.

Inheritance tax is legalised theft. I say this as someone who will inherit nothing, so no skin in the game
I stand to inherit a lot.
I have done absolutely nothing to deserve this money and the person I'll inherit from has worked no harder in life than their cleaner, infact, I bet the cleaner worked harder.
It makes no sense to me that people work hard and have to scrimp to stretch their wages out after a big chunk of tax is taken but a massive great windfall, I did nothing for could be tax free.
Inheritance just entrenches inequality.

For what it's worth, I think inheritance should just be treated as income and taxed as such.

@Kendodd if this was a thing, my parents, my in-laws and the other people who DH and I potentially stand to inherit from would buy 'goods' that could be passed on without actual cash in the bank. Why THE FUCK should the state be able to take 95-100% of any wealth after death when the people who WORKED for that, want to set up their descendants?

I will work and invest for my children's futures & if this was a thing, I'd find ways and means around it. Inherited wealth has been a thing almost since civilisation began

Well you give your inheritance to charity then OP.
My kids are getting theirs.

then give it to the government or to charity

It would never make it onto statute.

50%, flat rate, no allowance or small allowance I could get behind.

Most of what people “pass on” is the profits from runaway house prices. I’ll happily risk foregoing a good chunk of a notional future inheritance if it evens out the yawning social mobility chasm and funds the exchequer.

Then give it away. Other people shouldn't have their property stolen by politicians to then "redistribute" (bloody inefficiently and with plenty of dodgy deals I'm sure) just because you've got some middle class guilt. I come from a long line of poor, working class people. I might actually have a house that I can leave my kids when I die. Why the hell should the state be able to take that from me? A country is more resilient if people can keep their resources, not hand them all over to beurocrats to piss up the wall. We should all aim to leave something for our families when we can.

No chance. Why should people who have worked hard, been taxed probably several times over, have it all snatched away?
I doubt this would ever get passed as law

Bugger off with that. May as well spend the lot on gin and sell up and rent if the government will take it all when I die.

Do give it away!

I don’t mind about what I inherit, I mind about what I will leave my son.

What has kept me in jobs where I have found it hard to navigate things and what has kept me in good jobs when I wanted to jack it in, is the idea that my son benefits eventually.

If he’s getting nothing, I could actually just live off benefits and a 2 nights a week job at my local TBH. I wouldn’t be rich but my breaking even had a point before. If Johnson or Starmer are getting my home, not my DS, why should I bother? The idea is actually not good for the economy.

It would have a catastrophic effect on rural communities
not necessarily farms which are treated very favourably for inheritance tax already, but other rural businesses are far more likely to be passed down through the family
They are more way of life than making a fortune, so not the sort of thing someone would want to buy as a going concern.
I would imagine rich pickings for second homers wanting cheap cottages
not so great for everyone else who needs the services

It wouldn’t work.

People would give it to their loved ones during their lifetime.

I inherited very very little from my parents, and will most likely have little to leave my children of material value.

I still think inheritance tax is morally corrupt. That money has already been taxed.

So when you donate it all, it'll do a lot of good in the world. But people also work extremely hard for their money, or scrimp and save for it. That cleaner might own her own home of she got in the market a long time ago, and she might habe fought hard to keep that house. Why shouldn't she pass it on to her kids? Why should the govt be entitled to it,?

I'd sell up fairly young oldish and spend it all

If it was your mum's income, for example, she already paid income tax and national insurance as appropriate. If it was her house, she paid stamp duty as appropriate. Most inheritance is already taxed, whether or not the person inheriting is taxed. How many handfuls should the state take from one bag?

The problem OP, is that the cleaner probably isn't paid fairly for their work/cost of living is too high in proportion to those wages, not that someone leaves their kids a bit of money!
There should be true equality of opportunity when it comes to healthcare and education and housing. Future careers shouldn't hinge on how much money your family has and whether they can support you through medical school for example. That's how you end entrenched inequality.

Let's start with the rich and tax their inheritances???

Had the Grosvenor estate bequeathed to the new Duke of Westminster been liable for 40% inheritance tax, the amount owed to the Treasury would have been not far off the government’s entire death duty take for the last financial year.

Hugh Grosvenor, however, avoids a significant cut to his £9bn inheritance because the estate is held in a trust.

Britain’s generous trust law ensures that the country’s largest fortunes are largely kept intact. This is borne out by statistics which show that duties are a modest source of revenue for the Treasury. HMRC collected total tax of £534bn in 2015-16, of which inheritance tax receipts represented £4.7bn.

I would make sure every penny and asset was transferred over. Everything I've earned has been taxed, then will be taxes again with inheritance tax. All it would do to be honest is mean the money would be gone well before care home fees could be taken if needed.