To think scrapping inheritance tax would not be popular with voters

[Lanadelday]

I'd say I can't believe the conservatives are considering it, but nothing surprises me any more that they do. But AIBU to think most people wouldn't back this anyway- I can't see it being a big vote winner and don't think they really get that voters are sick of all the inequality and so many people including kids and elderly, living in poverty, not wanting to make it worse.

In the SE you can't buy a house for much less than £325k. Flats typically start at £215k. It's easy to see why it would be a vote winner when playing with those numbers!

I think you're naive .

I'd prefer it if they got rid of stamp duty instead!

And definitely I think the fundamental point is that culturally and traditionally, British people as a whole are against establishment interference when it comes to assets or fruits of labour they feel they have worked for to leave for their children. It's not popular and I think it would definitely win more voters than tip anyone the other way.

We need to raise more taxes if we want things health and roads and security and education to be affordable for all

Tax rises can no longer come from the middle

So they have to come from the top

And if you have worked hard and bought a house that has then massively increased in value you have not worked any harder than someone who never quite got out of rented accommodation

We are strongly encouraging our parents to blow the lot too and make sure they have a pot left over for care fees if they're needed.

If it was only some areas it wouldn't be so bad but it's nearly all areas now. Even parts of the county I'm in that were undesirable are reaching silly money for homes.

I think a lot of people would love inheritance tax to be scrapped because they wrongly assume it will apply to them. The threshold where you start paying is essentially half a million per parent. So if one goes first and everything passes to the surviving parent, the allowance also carries over. So you basically have a million between property, cash and other assets before you start getting taxed.

If you think people inheriting a million quid shouldn't pay any tax on it, you need to give your head a wobble

This is why as a nation we default back to a Tory government. Socially left of a lot of other Conservative governments of other nations they fit the need of the British psyche

It's not just UK either - IHT is a contentious issue across the world generally. Some countries have scrapped it entirely, others have way lower rates, or very high rates but the threshold is accordingly very high too, and some countries exclude lineal heirs from having to pay any at all.

My parents, nor myself, are ever likely to pay inheritance tax, but I'm not the jealous type and believe that once you've paid your income tax you shouldn't be taxed again on that money when you die.
To be frank, the system has enough money, they just choose to waste it on rubbish, can't go to a hospital now without seeing pride coloured zebra crossings at £45k a go, or schools without pride flags and so on... just the tip of an iceberg of wasted money.

Yes, this is exactly where I stand on the issue, but it's shocking how many people think the opposite. My dad and ILs spend a lot of time worrying about IT. Just spend it!

You're taxed on your wage, you're taxed on a property purchase, you're subject to capital gains tax if it's not your primary residence (and that could be for a multitude of reasons, none of them being smug greediness), you're taxed on your pension and then there's inheritance tax.

Scrap IHT, the government has had enough of what you have worked to build, people be able to leave it to their loved ones/whoever they see fit.

I would support scrapping IHT if it was replaced with CGT on the primary home.

Yes, fiscally conservative but socially liberal. An unfortunate dilemma.

This is a good point.

If it was only some areas it wouldn't be so bad but it's nearly all areas now. Even parts of the county I'm in that were undesirable are reaching silly money for homes.

a) I think a major correction to house prices as we move back towards normal interest rates will solve this.

b) It's barely a problem because, as others have pointed out, the threshold is effectively £500k per parent. Anyone with a house still worth £1m by the end of this year is very rich!

So @EmmaGrundyForPM am assuming you won't be accepting the full inheritance and making a big donation to local charity or food bank?

What's even more bonkers is if you actually implemented this (and saved 7 billion) then if you are going to keep service spending the same you are going to have to raise 7 billion from somewhere else.

Maybe we can squeeze the "squeezed middle" a bit harder. There's more blood in there to be had.

Nope, I've been taxed on it and I want a say on giving it to my DCs. I'm not over privileged by a long shot. If people want to pay more, fine but don't take that choice from me. I am happy to give as much as I can to them.

I once voted Tories because they promised I could buy my HA home with the same right to buy discount that council tenants get. 11years later that still hasn’t come into effect
My (very middle class, always voted Tory) parents once voted Tory because they promised there would be a cap on care home fees. The quickly scrapped that as soon as they were voted in and my poor nans savings have gone from almost £500k to £20k 😢

they can promise anything they like, we will never vote for them at the next GE, because we don’t believe they will actually deliver

It's a thoroughly unfair tax at the moment and it's relatively easy to reduce or avoid altogether if you get some proper advice.

I just did a very scientific experiment and put into Rightmove with a 40 mile radius of a random bit of London. No min beds. £1million min and max budget.

Most of what has come up is what I would call typical family suburban homes. We aren't talking mega mansions for this money we are talking homes that allow people to commute to London.

The property market is flawed.

This is not really a helpful response.

The point of wanting tax to go up is to raise significant amounts for public services and to spread the cost fairly. An individual donating to charity makes no real difference.

My (very middle class, always voted Tory) parents once voted Tory because they promised there would be a cap on care home fees.

But there is a cap on care home fees.

Oh poor people who have had to pay tax on their earnings

and then don't want to pay tax on unearned wealth

And then would rather watch people other die, live in squalor , provided it's not their darling children - hope you leave them enough to live in a gated community with its own private education and health service if you really want a dog eat dog country