What do you think of Burnham's plans re inheritance tax?

[JoyousOpalLemur]

He has said in the past that he wants to abolish inheritance tax and replaced it with a social care levy on inherited assets, which will incorporate unused pensions.

I don't totally understand this if I'm honest - I think it means everyone will be dragged into the inheritance tax threshold, but it seems like a fairer tax than what currently exists, and it's there for a purpose (to fund social care).

What do you think?

https://www.independent.co.uk/money/burnham-prime-minister-money-taxes-mortgages-bonds-stamp-duty-b3001078.html

Agree
full staffing at the weekend is required
We’ve had the same issue with waiting days for prescriptions

Businesses have to made a profit sure, but unless they operate in a competetive environment then have to be regulated to stop them getting out of control otherwise they will just ramp up the costs.

The government should be there to ensure the necessary amount of provision is in place to balance against profiteering. Individuals shouldn't have to line the pockets of care home owners through massive fees because enough provision for residential care has not been made.

Generally I agree with your sentiments re IHT. I think it should be higher and I think more people should pay it, especially at the top end where it is avoided. However I am not confident the rest of country agrees with me.

I don’t think IHT should be higher I think everyone should pay it and there should be no avenue for avoidance

Sadly the politicians, civil servants etc aren't competent enough to stop the legal tax avoidance. The law drafting "team" are often pretty useless at drafting laws without huge great chasms ripe for tax avoidance, loopholes etc. Time and time again, for the last few decades, new tax laws have been brought in, the tax avoidance "industry" has seen the loopholes virtually immediately, and that it takes the politicians/civil servants years to close the loopholes, which were basically blindingly obvious in the first place. Some firms of accountants, lawyers, financial advisers etc are sending out emails/bulletins to clients literally on the eve of the Budget or other big policy announcements with legal tax avoidance schemes/tips as the loopholes etc are so glaringly obvious.

When you have a different definition of what constitutes a "business" for different taxes, i.e. national insurance, CGT, IHT, you know things have gone very badly wrong. Such differences being because the law drafters made up "new" definitions for each tax without cross-checking the existing definitions for other taxes. You really couldn't make it up!! We now have the case where someone's "business" activity can be a "business" for one tax but not for another! It's utterly bonkers. That's just one example.

It's why I've advocated for scrapping NIC for years. It's crazy that different forms of income, benefits, bonuses, etc are subject to tax and NIC in different ways. No wonder the UK's tax statutes are the biggest in the World with so much unnecessary complication caused by poor law creation in the first place.