Inheritance tax to be halved

[WildWhippet]

The government intends on having the rate of inheritance tax in the autumn statement.

Is this a good move? Will it encourage you to vote for the Conservative Party?

Far from encouraging me to vote Conservative it would have the opposite effect.

Exactly ds was the sole beneficiary of great uncle’s estate. Money stayed in the family, but IHT due as not a direct descendant and therefore did not benefit from the extra house increase allowance

I suppose i’m of the mindset that my dc are privileged already & inheriting more off other relatives is just a bonus & I wouldn’t want my sibling or aunt to worry about downsizing or paying for legal advice to increase how much my dc can get.

I'd never vote Conservative!

How about the do something about taxes every day people are crippled by?

@Flickersy my understanding is the best way to reduce it is to dispose of assets as soon as possible? obviously not always practical.

I’m also a tax adviser and agree totally. The rhetoric that the rich don’t pay IHT, or put everything into trust to avoid IHT is grating.

The general public just don’t understand just how much some individuals/trusts pay and the mechanics behind the reliefs available (the reliefs are justified IMO!).

Yes, the best way to reduce it is to own very little when you die, or own assets against which you can claim reliefs (business or agricultural property for example) or which don't exceed the available nil rate bands.

You could give away most assets before death, and as long as it's 7 years before you die then no IHT will be due but depending on what you're giving away and to who you might have to pay capital gains tax instead.

A taper kicks in 3 years after a gift so you'd pay less and less inheritance tax until 7 years after the gift, in which case it becomes an exempt gift.

Rather than reducing the % they should increase the threshold so that the “squeezed middle” don’t have to pay. IHT should be about putting the breaks on multi-generational mega wealth build up that creates an “aristocracy” and impacts a functioning democracy. It shouldn’t be about preventing DC from being able to afford a terraced home in zone 3 London.

It is right that inheritance tax thresholds are changed as house prices have shot up so significantly.

No. They're ensuring those with wealth pass on more of it while doing more and more to harm the poorest and most vulnerable.

They should keep inheritance tax the same, close the loopholes and schemes that allow the mega rich and big businesses to pay fuck all tax on anything and provide proper care and financial support for the sick and the disabled and the unpaid carers that save the government bloody billions.

People who live in £50 million mansions in London do not pay IHT, the houses and other expensive properties are bought through trusts and companies, generally offshore. This will benefit lesser mortals

They have shot up because that has been enabled by the people who get inheritance that is below the current taxation levels

If the threshold was lowered then there wouldn't be a lot of younger people with half a million to spend on a home

@Flickersy thank you, I am trying to encourage my parents to downsize 😆

Raise the tax thresholds which have been frozen, it’s crazy low. Should be aligned with NMW at 35 hours pw.this would help lowest paid and pensioners the most

Inheritance tax doesn't affect me as not enough assets and highly unlikely to inherit. However I would personally rather pay tax on my death than during my lifetime.

I would rather keep inheritance tax and plough the money into essential services than scrap this. If the essential services were covered, I would increase income tax thresholds rather than do anything else.

It shouldn’t be about preventing DC from being able to afford a terraced home in zone 3 London.

Id argue low interest rates, wage stagnation & frozen income tax bands have had more impact on the above!

I don't believe it can just be avoided.
Many people's houses are worth more than the current threshold- and not everyone is married and with children where there may be scope for increasing the threshold, or passing the house to a spouse or relative.

They have shot up because that has been enabled by the people who get inheritance that is below the current taxation levels

Yes it’s definitely fuels property inequality

Stagnating wages etc do play a part but the correlation between those who can buy and those who get inheritance is super strong

We could suggest that inheritance has also enabled wage stagnation as the economy can trundle on as long as enough people have inheritance

Of course not. They should raise the threshold and increase the tax on the very rich and at the same time close all the loopholes including putting large estates into trusts to benefit successive generations without ever incurring IHT.

I am in the process of paying a large chunk of inheritance tax on my parents' estate, but even if the change had been announced before they died, there is no way on earth I would ever vote conservative.

I am not exactly happy to be paying lots of tax but I think it is fair enough, and I would much rather pay the tax than have the government implement horribly cruel policies to make the lives of benefit claimants even worse, while failing to tax the ultra-rich and large corporations.

This change at first glance would definitely benefit my family and I am one of those that feel that IHT is a very unfair tax as it taxes wealth that has already been taxed one way or another.

All that said, nothing, absolutely nothing could convince me to vote conservative at the next election.

It’s totally irrelevant to me and benefits sections of society that need help the least.

It won’t make me more likely to vote Tory. It won’t make anyone who knows what they’re talking about vote Tory either, unless they’re both in the richest 4% of households and simultaneously believe that wealth should be given to people untaxed just because of who their parents are.

But it will probably make some people vote Tory who mistakenly believe that IHT is unjust, and/or who mistakenly think they’ll have to pay it as it is.

FWIW I would abolish it entirely and tax recipients instead as if they’d earned the money they inherit.

This change at first glance would definitely benefit my family and I am one of those that feel that IHT is a very unfair tax as it taxes wealth that has already been taxed one way or another.

My family home has gone up an insane amount, that hasn’t been taxed in anyway & it’s just luck that the part of London it’s in went through immense gentrification

Ridiculous. Absolutely not a priority! I actually think IHT should be higher and that would me more likely to encourage me to vote for a party.