What of co-habiting elderly couples, perhaps elderly ones, where a partner has cared for another for many years (both perhaps having been married before and with children and nephews/nieces in the wings - who might not have visited for years). The home owner leaves the house to the partner for life but the plan goes awry because the estate passes to the beneficiaries who have to pay IHT and the partner who has done all the caring for perhpas a decade loses their roof?
It isn't as cut and dried as it appears.
Also we put down a deposit of about two thirds on our house in 1994. Our mortgage at the time was nearly 100k. We paid the mortgage from taxed income; we have paid for the renovations, we have continued to pay income tax at extremely high rates, we will have huge amounts of stamp duty to pay in due course, our children will have to pay IHT although we will make every effort to avoid this as far as legally possible because the tax has already been paid once. DH pays rafts of employer's NI, employs four or five people in his own right in a small professional business, has advised on many things that have helped the UK economy over the years. We do not participate in the education system for our dc although we have contributed, likewise the NHS.
If we earned less as a family we would also be paying much less tax. Last year we paid about £250k. I think we contribute hugely already. DH is at a stage in his career where we could relocate to another administration. We don't want to do that but if we have to pay more than we do already we will and the UK will ultimately be the loser.
The children will board and probably almost certainly then end up at university in the US. Double whammy all round. We contribute a huge amount and take out very little. Make it more punitive to us and we will contribute far less than we do at present.