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?

Helping out the rich, as per!

Inheritance tax should be 100% and impossible to avoid, as a general principle let alone at a time like this when so many are experiencing falling living standards while a small rich minority get even richer on the back of their riches.

But I'm not sure why anybody would be surprised at the Tories doing what they do, and serving who they serve.

Be better off looking at stamp duty and getting the housing market shifting again

Of course. But their kids have done none of that so should pay tax when they receive the benefit of all that hard work.

I would increase it so that there is more revenue for social services - hospitals, schools etc.

No, the difference is direct vs indirect tax. Direct tax is a tax on your income, indirect tax is a tax on a transaction.

Generally, UK tax policies avoid double taxation which is why we have many tax treaties with other countries. Double taxation is tax being paid twice on the same source of income and is seen as unfair.

For instance, if I were to sell a business for £3m, I would pay £840k capital gains tax. If I then dropped dead the next day my estate would then pay a further £864k IHT on that same £3m income I had received.

That is why is some consider it unfair. The same pot of money is being tax twice directly which is against UK tax principles.

It would be so obviously a tax cut for the wealthy ONLY that it would make me determined to vote against them, even if it meant voting tactically. Thankfully in my constituency that’s not the case.

Better to remove an essential product (domestic electricity? Shoes? Cleaning services?) from the scope of VAT.

To fund the inheritance tax cuts they are cutting welfare. Literally taking money away from the sick and disabled, who are already suffering from austerity and rises in the cost of living. People are turning off their fridge because they can’t afford the electricity.

It’s making me feel nauseous when I see Jeremy Hunt’s smug face. I’ve always thought it was hyperbole to say the Tories were waging class war on the poor but FFS.

It’d be fascinating though wouldn’t it? I do wonder what will happen when elder Millenials like myself don’t have the property or savings needed to pay for our care like our grandparents and parents are currently. It’s going to be pretty turbulent when that day comes.

This is why it sounds like I’m pandering to the rich (although I’d question what rich is to some) in my comments, but I’m concerned that we’re all already so up against it that stifling any further ambition to save or earn more money will lead us to issues further down the road.

It's ridiculous.
Only a tiny percentage of estates ever pay IHT but it does bring in much-needed money to the exchequer to pay for things that benefit society: schools, hospitals, roads, rail etc.
This move is simply a bribe to the "worried affluent" - who are almost certainly going to vote Tory anyway.
If I died tomorrow my estate almost certainly would be subject to IHT and frankly that's fine with me. It seems only fair that my nieces - who would inherit - have a pay tax on a lump sum they've never worked for and that most other people will never get.
If the Government wanted to help ordinary people by reducing any tax then cut the rate of VAT; that's a tax that massively disproportionately affects the least well off.
And I'd rather gouge my own eyes out with spoons than vote Tory; never have and can't imagine I ever would.

But are the truly wealthy paying IHT?

Thats the real question as they frankly aren’t. They’ve got loopholes they can access.

I understood that inheritance tax kicks in after about £350 000 most properties in the South East are more than that

£500,000 on a property left to children/grandchildren (on estates under 2mil).

Remember, spousal inheritence is tax free and the allowance is also transferable, so potentially up to £1million on the house.

I would much rather cuts elsewhere.

IHT won't affect me anyway.

Tories I am sure assume everyone will recieve an inheritance when that couldn't be further from the truth. Its weird it's always one of the more controversial ones when it doesn't affect many people at all; I wonder if it's because it's one that affects influential people more than others so they're more vocal (why would they bother advocating for others after all).

I think inheritance tax is fair in that many people who bought houses decades ago have amassed a really healthy rise in value- that chunk has effectively never been taxed and it should be when passed on.

And wealth can never be distributed. The rich get richer. From the Party of 'levelling up'

I'm all in favour of getting rid of IHT altogether, along with SDLT (an irritating tax if ever there was one).

People are living in cloud cuckoo land if they seriously believe in this utopia where everyone will be equally rich one day.

Yes, the truly wealthy are paying a lot of IHT.

If by “loopholes” you mean legislation, it applies to everyone regardless of wealth.

FWIW, I was 100% determined never to vote Conservative again after Brexit and Lockdown. However, given that the Labour party was equally in favour of both of those completely shitty policies and the Lib Dems are a woke joke, I am going to revert to the Conservatives as they are the best of a crap lot.

If I died tomorrow my estate almost certainly would be subject to IHT and frankly that's fine with me. It seems only fair that my nieces - who would inherit - have a pay tax on a lump sum they've never worked for and that most other people will never get

If I died tomorrow, my estate would definitely be subject to IHT and frankly is is not fine with me. It seems grossly unfair that my children - who would inherit - have to pay tax on a lump sum which has accrued thanks in part to various members of my family working their socks off and never asking for anything in return. NFW would I want that money to go to HMRC.

I'd be much more likely to vote for them if they doubled it

It's a little like the idea of making everyone above average intelligence

This is so often overlooked by those being disgusted that the government takes 40% when in reality a couple can pass over IHT allowance to each other, plus pass their property on so with a £1m allowance and only paying 40% of the amount left after that - they really are not hard done by.
Suppose a couple leave £1.5m in total - the IHT on that would be 40% of £500K. The beneficiaries would receive £1m + £300K - IHT paid £200k
As a singleton with a house worth £600k I feel it is a tad unfair that I would have to pay IHT of 40% on £100K even if I leave the house to a family member.

I wouldn't vote Conservative if they guaranteed me life tenancy at the Ritz while hooked up to a perpetual orgasm machine.

Now that deserves a "promised" v "reality" poster ....